There are a handful of roadblocks that seemingly keep Americans from taking a closer look at electric cars, and one of the big ones is the P word: Price.
Electric cars likely have years before they reach cost parity with vehicles donning an internal-combustion engine, but Volkswagen wants to scrap the waiting game. Instead, it's looking at an "apples to apples" kind of approach for its electric vehicles. That's the word from Volkswagen America CEO Scott Keogh.
The CEO told Green Car Reports in an interview published Tuesday that the automaker's goal is to price its electric cars comparable to a similar fossil fuel-powered model in its lineup. In this case, he spoke of the forthcoming ID 4 -- an electric SUV that will mark VW's electric car assault on the US. The wonderful ID 3 hatchback isn't coming to America, to everyone at Roadshow's dismay.
The ID 4 should be sized similarly to the Tiguan crossover SUV, and with a price point to match the traditional car, it VW "is positioning it for the masses." As a reminder, the Tiguan starts at $25,290 after a destination charge. Options kick the final cost up to $39,890.
What's unclear is if Keogh imagines this price mirroring strategy to include any available tax credits and other incentives. VW will be able to take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit when the ID 4 goes on sale. If VW were to price its electric SUV at a sub-$30,000 price point before the tax credit, we could really be looking at a game changer. The automaker would also likely be looking at minimal, if any, profits.
We won't have too much longer to wait. VW plans to launch the electric SUV in 2020, which means we'll likely see the production version bow in the near future.
