VW's first-gen EVs, the eGolf and later eUp, looked basically just like the Golf and Up. This lead people to believe that VW did not make electric cars (a lot of people thought the ID.3/4 were their first). The market _wants_ electric cars to be a bit weird-looking.

I don't buy that. The eGolf was impopular due to its tiny range, eUp was too expensive for something that's basically a glorified shopping kart. People are well aware VW had electric cars, and the ID3/4 also don't look that weird to me just as Tesla, Hyundai Kona/Kia Niro don't.

What the market wants is cars that are cheap to drive, practical and fast. While there are people wanting to make a statement with their car I can't believe that's a majority. The overwhelming amount of cars in my city belongs to the cheap/practical category.