NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Volkswagen ID.4 SUV set for April reveal

A near production-ready Volkswagen ID.4 SUV will be unveiled this April at the New York motor show.

According to

Volkswagen is reportedly planning not one small electric SUV but two – the standard ID.4 and a more stylish ID.5 'coupe', both based heavily on the ID.3 hatch.

There's no word of when the latter will arrive but the second has already been previewed by the I.D. Crozz II that was revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt show, although it will likely trade the concept's electric sliding apertures for a more conventional pair of doors.

Already seen testing, disguised fiendishly as an Opel, the ID.4 will measure in at around 4625mm long, 1891mm wide and 1609mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2773mm.

That makes the Volkswagen ID.4 shorter and lower but wider than the Tiguan, yet it will offer the interior space of an SUV one size bigger thanks to its all-new MEB platform.

Set to command a modest premium over the circa-€30,000 ($A48,000) Volkswagen ID.3 hatch, the cheapest ID.4 electric SUV will come with a sole rear-mounted electric motor.

No specs have been released, but it’s thought the ID.3’s 45kWh, 58kWh and 77kWh lithium-ion battery packs will all carry over for the ID.4 and ID.5, providing for a range of 330km, 420km and 550km respectively.

The entry-level model will be offered with a 110kW electric motor while the bigger battery versions get the punchier 150kW/310Nm motor.

There’s no word on performance but, like the ID.3, the top speed of battery-powered SUV will be limited to 180km/h.

With a near perfect 48:52 weight distribution and all its battery mass positioned low in the chassis, the Volkswagen ID.4 — like the hatch — is expected to deliver class-leading dynamics when it eventually arrives Down Under.

Both battery-powered SUVs are expected to be on sale in Europe early in 2021, and the ID.4 is expected to spearhead Volkswagen Australia's EV assault in 2022, when the SUV could beat the ID.3 hatch to market here.

When it arrives, the small SUV will face competition from not only the Kia e-Niro but the Tesla Model Y, when they finally arrive Down Under too.

Globally, Volkswagen has announced it plans to sell around 100,000 pure-electric vehicles this year and around one million annually by 2025.