There was a ~€20k electric car from the VW group. It was called Skoda Citigo iV but they axed it. Seems like they are walking in circles.
I currently have a 2017 Polo and there is nothing below in their model lineup and when I look at the replacement Polo it is bigger and more expensive and now the size of a Golf.
Either people are getting bigger, or the concept of an entry level affordable car escapes car manufacturers.
Electrification compounds this issue: customers want range which means kilo's of battery which further impacts the profit on those small models.
I also think that for 20k the up! just wasn't a good car. Which probably was one of the reasons it didn't get a new model.
>Seems like they are walking in circles.
Why? They are gradually releasing EVs for different segments of the market. The e-up! and e-Golf were very clearly meant to test designing developing and building EVs.