Volkswagen will introduce a number of small electric vehicles that will sit below its upcoming Golf-sized I.D. hatchback in its electrified range.

Speaking during the Volkswagen Group’s 2019 Annual Media Conference, company chief executive Dr Herbert Diess said that the automaker’s electric MEB architecture will include support for “small city cars.”

Talking to Auto Express, Diess said the company’s first sub-I.D. hatchback model should arrive in 2023.

“It’s a smaller size. It’s sub-Golf size. It’s being worked on now. We should expect it around 2023. We have to do this if we want to have the market shares we need, and the spread of electrification we want, but we’re coming from the top down. So it won’t be too soon.”

The VW Group is rolling out its electric vehicle future with the Audi and Porsche brands before introducing a fleet of vehicles in more affordable and accessible segments, including in the Polo class. Doing so won’t be easy, however.

“Batteries remain expensive so the price difference between a conventional car and an electric car in that class, like the Polo or the Up, is a bit of a challenge in terms of economics,” Diess remarked. “But if you think about what we want to do, i.e. go up to 40 percent e-mobility share by 2030, then we have to electrify those lower segments as well.”

Details about the automaker’s first sub-Golf electric vehicle remain scarce, but it’s possible it will take the shape of a small SUV similar in size to the T-Cross.