In brief: Volkswagen has never seemed terribly interested in shipping electric vehicles, but it seems recent EU regulations regarding emissions may have forced the company's hand. According to sources, the carmaker is set to discuss the mass-production of sub-$23,000 electric cars at a November 16 board meeting.
Tesla hasn't been immune to competition over the years, but few of those competitors have created true alternatives to the company's vehicles. Some have come close -- like Chevy's "Bolt" SUV -- but Tesla's emphasis on car build quality, user-focused software updates, and its self-driving ambitions have set it apart from the herd.
An unlikely competitor may be set to emerge soon, however. According to a report from Reuters, Volkswagen is throwing its hat into the ring with something internally referred to as the "MEB entry." This mystery vehicle, according to sources, is an electric car set to be discussed at an upcoming company board meeting on November 16.
Currently, the plan is for Volkswagen to produce 200,000 of these vehicles. Another vehicle, known as the I.D. Aero, is also reportedly in the works, but it will be a mid-sized sedan instead of a standard car.
Reuters says some of these vehicles will cost under 20,000 euros ($22,836). It's not clear which vehicle (if not both) will fall into this price range, however. Volkswagen's upcoming meeting will also discuss a potential shift from making internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) to mass-producing electric cars, one of Reuters' sources reportedly added.
We will have to wait and see how much of the outlet's information is correct, but an eventual shift towards mass-market electric vehicles seems inevitable. Tesla has already proven it can be done, and the market appears to be responding positively to the company's efforts so far.
As such, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer for car giants like Volkswagen to follow suit, even if they continue to ship new ICE vehicles alongside EVs in the future.
