VW kills its cheapest electric car due to cybersecurity rules

Volkswagen has introduced that it’s going to stop manufacturing of its cheapest electric car, the e-Up, by the tip of the yr due to new cybersecurity rules within the European Union.

Under EU rules relevant to all new automobiles produced from July 2024, producers should set up methods to shield their automobiles’ software program from cyber assaults.

“We would have to combine a totally new digital structure. It would merely be too costly,” VW model boss Thomas Schäfer instructed Dpa, justifying the corporate’s determination to scrap the e-Up.

VW had solely reopened order books for the electric model final yr after a 14-month hiatus throughout which it processed a big backlog of orders. It is now not accepting new orders in some elements of Europe.

The e-Up Style Plus has an inventory worth of just below 27,000 euros in Germany, or round 17,325 euros for those who deduct native authorities incentives for electric automobiles, making it essentially the most reasonably priced electric in VW’s lineup.

The auto large says it’s also eliminating the petrol model, and followers of the Up – or a small VW in its phase – may have to be affected person. The producer plans to launch a successor conceived as a purely electric car in just a few years.

The objective is an reasonably priced entry-level electric car for round 20,000 euros. This can be considerably cheaper than the beforehand introduced electric Polo ID.

Schäfer stated plans are nonetheless within the works and that the e-Up’s successor just isn’t anticipated to launch till 2026. The Up was launched in 2011 and was initially solely obtainable with a petroleum engine earlier than the electric model in 2014.