Someone told Golem.de that the reason the cheap electric subcompact dropped out of sale was not because it generated net loss, but because the demand was too high to keep up with the production.
The source dismissed the rumors that Volkswagen lost between €4,000 and €5,000 on every e-up! unit sold, calling them ‘baseless’.
The company made no official comment so far, but the hints that the subcompact will soon return to the showrooms are numerous. A number of dealerships in Western Europe received promo materials and price lists where the car is included. Looks like the popular Dacia Spring EV will get some competition, at least.
According to the dealers, the Volkswagen e-up! will only ship in one trim for the time being, called Style Plus. This trim level covers an engine rated at 83 PS (82 hp / 61 kW), a top speed of 110 km/h (68 miles per hour) and 258 km (160 miles) of WLTP-rated range. Charging the battery from empty to 80% full takes one hour given a 40kW charger.
Asked about the reasons for the e-up! to drop out of sale, the insider said that production never stopped for a moment last year. The company delisted the model to avoid long queues and price speculations. In the meantime, it also upgraded some of its production capacities to meet the demand. While dealerships mostly sold leftover e-up! stock in 2021, it still ended the year being among the most popular EVs in Western Europe by units sold, coming ahead of the VW ID.3.