Did Volkswagen tease a new entry-level EV on a Christmas card?

Last December, Volkswagen teased the silhouette of a red-hatted Santa Claus piloting some kind of buggy. The tease would turn out to be the all-electric ID. Buggy that debuted during the Geneva Motor Show in March. The German automaker has turned the same trick this year with the same format, Autocar revealing another red-hatted Santa in the driver’s seat of a hatchback. Autocar believes the image previews an entry-level ID-brand electric subcompact crossover priced below the ID 3, with a shorter range. Discussed by sources inside the company for about the past year and sitting on a platform called “MEB Entry,” the first vehicle would give rise to a range of low-cost EVs across several VW Group brands in Europe and China among other markets.

It’s hard to know what the front end looks like without a hood line, but the image shows a slightly flatter roof than that of the ID 3, leading to an almost vertical backlight above a continuous LED strip that wraps around to the C-pillars. Said to be about 150 inches long, this first MEB Entry crossover would be roughly eight inches longer than the e-Up! and ten inches shorter than the Polo subcompact, but said to have the interior room of the Mk8 Golf, which is around 19 inches longer.

Pitched as a city car or a “second or third car” for commuters, the MEB Entry packs a smaller battery good for a range between 130 and 150 miles. Estimated pricing is under 20,000 euros ($22,160 U.S.), with VW aiming to sell 200,000 per year across the brands with access to the platform. If VW really can hold the MSRP under 20,000 euros by the time the crossover comes to market, we’d expect this positioned as a replacement for the e-Up!, but one that’s at least 2,000 euros less expensive.

Market launch has been guessed as anywhere from 2022 to “before the end of 2025,” with Autocar saying we should see an MEB Entry concept in the second half of 2020.