Volkswagen ID.2 nears production looking much like the pint-size EV concept
The Volkswagen ID.2 is getting awfully close to production, but the Polo-size EV is yet to be confirmed for Australian release despite previous indications it would be sold here.
With Volkswagen Australia's on again, off again plans for the long-awaited Golf-size ID.3 hatch now cancelled at least in its current generation, there seems little chance of smaller electric models, such as the ID.2, finding their way to our shores.
The company's local arm had previously said the ID.2 would come to Australia, it was 'just a matter of when'.
The ID.2 emerges just days after Cupra Australia confirmed the Born, the ID.3's twin-under-the-skin, was now discontinued Down Under, although it maintained 'planning for the next evolution of the Born – including the performance VZ – continues'.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
This latest Volkswagen ID.2 prototype was spied on the streets outside the Nurburgring racetrack, and is wearing just the thinnest of disguises.
There are printed covers around the headlights, and tail-lights that give the impression that the car is a humble Polo, but a peek a little more closely and you can see it is basically the 2023 ID. 2all concept (bottom) brought to life.
Sheetmetal changes seem to be limited a simpler bonnet design, and some extra creases on the lower door. There are also larger flagpole-style wing mirrors, and a lightly revised front bumper with a wider and taller lower air intake.
Don't be fooled by the rear door handle stickers. Like the concept, the production car's rear door handles are hidden in the window frame to create the impression of a three-door hatch. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
It's unclear what the production version of the ID.2 will be known as, with Martin Sander, the Volkswagen brand's chief of marketing and sales, confirming earlier this year that all new EV models 'will get proper names again'.
With the concept measuring 4050mm long – a few millimetres less than the Polo – it's possible the ID.2 may be christened ID.Polo or Polo EV.
Reverting to 'proper names' follows on from a declaration in 2023 by Andreas Mindt, Volkswagen's head of design, that the marque would ditch the current rounded, cab-forward design of the ID cars for something more normal and traditional for its next-generation EVs. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Whatever it's called, the ID.2 rides on the Volkswagen Group's MEB Entry architecture, which will also underpin the Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval.
While the larger MEB platform that serves as the basis of most of the automaker's EVs is rear-wheel drive by default, MEB Entry is a front-wheel drive architecture.
At launch, MEB Entry will support 38kWh and 56kWh batteries, with the latter having DC fast-charging up 125kW and a range of around 450km.
In Europe, pricing for the ID.2 is expected to start under €25,000 (A$44,450), meaning it will compete against the Citroen e-C3 and Renault 5 E-Tech.
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The Advertiser
8 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Show me the money: Pope launches Vatican debt campaign
Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
Show me the money: Pope launches Vatican debt campaign
Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged.
The Age
16 hours ago
- The Age
In a world of conflict, the spoils are rich from gold and guns
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that global military expenditure hit a record $US2.7 trillion ($4.1 trillion) in 2024, an increase of 9.4 per cent in real terms from the previous year, and the steepest annual jump since the Cold War ended. 'If 5 per cent [of GDP] becomes baseline, defence stocks stop being cyclical – they become structural. And that changes everything.' Stephen Innes, SPI Asset Management SIPRI highlighted the 'guns or butter' cost to social programs from the rising spending on weaponry. 'As governments increasingly prioritise military security, often at the expense of other budget areas, the economic and social trade-offs could have significant effects on societies for years to come,' warned SIPRI researcher Xiao Liang. The big beneficiaries from this war trade are traditionally US defence giants, such as Northrop Grumman – maker of the B-2 stealth bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles – which is now trading near multi-year highs. Virginia-based RTX, which makes the Javelin and Stinger missiles that were used heavily in the Ukraine war, has also hit record highs. But the changing nature of warfare, where computer-guided drones and new technology such as AI are coming to the fire, has thrown up some new winners. Shares of US tech group Palantir have soared more than 400 per cent in a year as the company cements its place in the US industrial military complex. And investors are also noticing the impact in Europe, where Germany's new government signalled a seismic shift in March, with plans to lift strict spending controls to create a €500 billion ($896 billion) fund for defence and security. It has had a massive impact on European stocks. Italy-based aerospace, defence and security firm Leonardo, German sensor technology company Hensoldt, and British aerospace and defence company Babcock International have seen their share prices more than double over the last year. Korea's Hanwha Aerospace is another EU beneficiary, and its share price has soared 200 per cent over the same period. Even Australia benefits, as shown by Hanwha recently acquiring a 9.9 per cent stake in local shipbuilder Austal, with plans to double its investment. Austal shares have tripled since last September, thanks to its contracts with the US Navy. ASX-listed DroneShield – a maker of anti-drone technology – has tripled since February. And right on cue, it announced a $61 million European military order on Wednesday for handheld detection and counter-drone systems. This one deal exceeds its entire revenue for 2024. Three ASX-listed defence ETFs (exchange-traded funds, which invest in defence stocks globally) from VanEck, Betashares and Global X are all up 50 per cent this year. 'Global defence has been one of the few equity segments that have outperformed the market this year. Flows into ASX-listed global defence ETFs have shot up since March,' VanEck's Jamie Hannah said. The surge in the performance of defence stocks has posed a conundrum for some ethical funds and investment mandates, which have generally precluded any military assets. But investors appear to be coming to the conclusion that Citi reached in 2022: 'Defence is likely to be increasingly seen as a necessity that facilitates ESG as an enterprise as well as maintaining peace, stability and other social goods.' In April, UBS Asset Management – which oversees $US1.8 trillion in investments – scrapped prohibitions that prevented its sustainable funds from investing in conventional military weapons manufacturers. Exclusions still apply to more controversial weaponry such as cluster munitions. Hannah says VanEck already screens out these more controversial manufacturers from its ETF. 'It's very much an area where you need to consider what you're investing in,' Hannah said. Meanwhile, the only controversy over the ultimate defensive asset, gold, is whether it has peaked after a spectacular run over the past year to a record high of $US3500 an ounce in April. This month, a European Central Bank report confirmed that its soaring price, along with bullion buying by central banks, means gold is currently the second-biggest reserve holding by central banks behind the US dollar. Citi highlighted the extraordinary rush to gold with a report saying 0.5 per cent of global GDP was being spent on gold – the most in 50 years of data. And central banks have not been the only buyers. This month, VanEck noted that Australia's most recent export figures included $11 billion in 'non-monetary' gold exports to the US – which is gold acquired by private buyers, not reserve banks, for their foreign exchange reserves. 'This volume of gold exports for the quarter is more than the total non-monetary gold we have shipped to the USA in the last four years, and we think this could reflect a massive increase in demand from investors due to a loss of faith in [the US dollar] and US Treasuries,' VanEck's Cameron McCormack said. While some are getting squeamish after this year's 27 per cent gain for the precious metal, others are expecting its golden run to continue. Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs predicts gold will climb to $US3700 a troy ounce by the end of the year, from about $US3330 currently, as central banks keep buying tonnes of it every month. It could rise even further if investors use bullion as a safe space ahead of interest rate cuts and amid rising recession concerns. 'In the event of a recession, Goldman Sachs Research forecasts that gold could rise to as much as $US3880 a troy ounce,' the investment bank says.
