Volkswagen’s ID.Life is an urban EV that will enter production by 2025

Volkswagen has added another piece to its EV puzzle with the launch of the ID.Life concept, a front-wheel drive EV aimed at city-dwellers, the company announced at IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich. The small crossover shares the MEB platform and battery with the ID.3, and VW plans to launch it in Europe (not the US) by 2025. 

The ID.Life is powered by a 231-horsepower motor and 57.0-kWh battery pack that’s considerably larger than the 35-kWh battery on the Honda E city car. Like the rear-wheel-drive ID.3, also available only in Europe, it should go around 250 miles on a charge via Europe’s generous WLTP cycle.

Like other EVs we’re seeing in Munich, the ID.Life concept is meant to show how VW can create more sustainable vehicles. Wood chips are used as a natural coloring agent in the clear-coat paint, while the air chamber textile for the roof is made from 100 percent recycled PET bottles. Other materials include wood in the dashboard and ArtVelours Eco seats, along with natural rubber, bio-oil and rice husks in the tires.

Taking advantage of the wide-open MEB platform, the interior can be transformed by folding down the front and/or the rear bench seats. “This enables a range of different possibilities, from cinema seating, to a bed measuring around two meters in length, to a cargo version that maximizes luggage volume,” VW says.

The interior is stripped back, with a digital screen inserted into the hexagonal steering wheel in place of a traditional touchscreen display. Your smartphone can also be plugged in and used to operate the navigation, audio systems and more. It also has a built-in video game console and a projector, no less, with a projection screen that extends from the dash panel when needed. 

Some, all or none of these eclectic concept features may come to the production car, which is set to arrive in Europe by 2025. Volkswagen suggested that it’ll have a price starting at around 20,000 euros (about $23,700). With this EV, the ID.3 and others, it aims to increase its share of all-electric sales in Europe to “at least 70 percent” by 2030. In the US, it aims to have a 50 percent EV mix.