Volkswagen presented on Monday a compact crossover concept car targeted at a young customer base, offering a fully electric urban mobility option at around €20,000 ($23,726).

The so-called ID. LIFE concept car was premiered at the international motor show IAA Mobility 2021, in a press conference attended by Kallanish. The car “embodies sustainability, digital technology, timeless design and an innovative interior,” describes the company.

Ceo Ralf Brandstätter says the BEV will launch in 2025 and, at a lower entry level, it should make electric mobility accessible to more people. “We have consistently focused on the needs of younger customers. We believe that, even more so than today, the car of the future will be about lifestyle and personal expression,” he adds.

“The customer of tomorrow won’t simply want to get from A to B; they will be much more interested in the experiences that a car can offer. The ID. LIFE is our answer to this,” he continues.

As a few other carmakers, Volkswagen is marketing the concept as a “companion for life,” working “on a feeling that goes beyond mobility.” The car offers a large (34 inches) cinema screen on its window screen, retractable roof, foldable seats and game consoles to enable “the young generation” to have different experiences. Other features include sustainable materials, over-the-air updates and a smart cockpit.

The ID. LIFE is based on a small variant of Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix (MEB) featuring a 172-kilowatt electric motor and a 57-kilowatt-hour high-voltage battery. The car is expected to deliver a range of 400 kilometres (WLTP).

Volkswagen expects to share the €20,000 entry price concept with sister companies Skoda and Seat Cupra, with the latter also intending to localise battery production in Spain, Brandstätter notes. By 2030, the German carmaker aims to increase the share of BEVs to at least 70% of its total sales in Europe, and in North America and China to at least 50%.