Volkswagen and Renault may partner on cut-price electric cars – report

Volkswagen is looking to partner with another major automotive brand to build an upcoming affordable electric vehicle priced from less than €20,000 ($AU33,000), according to reports out of Europe.

And among the candidates – according to German industry publication Handelsblatt (via Automotive News Europe) – is French car giant Renault, with the European car giants reportedly already in talks.

The publication says these discussions are still at a “very early” stage, and that Volkswagen is looking to produce up to 250,000 vehicles per year with its yet-to-be-determined partner. 

News of this discussion between the German and French automotive giants comes after each manufacturer has expressed public interest in bringing a small electric vehicle priced from or less than €20,000 ($AU33,000) to showrooms.

Volkswagen has announced an intention to produce such a vehicle by 2027, known as the ID.1, which Renault announced plans to introduce a production version of the recently-unveiled Twingo concept in 2026.

Comments by top executives from the companies suggests work is well underway on these vehicles, so it is unclear how comprehensive a potential partnership could be – given moving to a new, common architecture or sharing electric motor and batteries could require a near-ground-up rework of both companies' current designs.

According to Reuters, both Volkswagen and Renault declined to comment on news of ongoing talks. 

However the news agency said Renault is looking to find a partner for the electric-vehicle project by early next year.

Alongside the ID.1, Volkswagen has been working on a larger ID.2 electric city hatch, which it aims to bring to the market in 2025 priced from about €25,000 mark ($AU42,000) – as a rival to the upcoming €25,000 Renault 5 city hatch, which is a size larger than the pint-sized Twingo.

The Volkswagen Group is no stranger to collaborating with other brands on electric vehicles, as it has licensed its MEB electric-car platform tof Ford for two SUVs, the upcoming Explorer and a second model rumoured to reprise the Capri badge.