Volkswagen ID.4 'ideal' for Australia

The 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV has been officially revealed, packing enough battery juice to travel up to 520km per charge.

Unveiling the VW ID.4 online via a live-streamed event overnight, Volkswagen forecasts it will rack up around 500,000 sales by 2025.

But initial demand is so strong that Australians will have to wait at least two more years to get it.

While the Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback preceded the ID.4 SUV, the latter is expected to be the model that truly kick-starts Volkswagen’s global EV assault and puts the European auto giant’s ‘dieselgate’ emissions-cheating scandal behind it once and for all.

Volkswagen Group of America boss Scott Keogh dubbed the ID.4’s arrival as “the most important launch for Volkswagen since the Beetle”.

Priced from $US40,000 ($A56,000) in the USA, the new Volkswagen ID.4 will be initially built as rear-drive only, offered first with a 77kWh battery pack that’s good for a 520km range when equipped with a 150kW electric motor.

So important is the new ID.4 to Volkswagen that it will be built at five different factories across the globe, with the EV-only Zwickau plant in Germany already churning them out.

Two car plants in China will begin producing the EV before year’s end, while a second German factory and one in the USA will build the SUV from 2022.

As Volkswagen prioritises key EV markets such as China, Europe and the USA, the Volkswagen ID.4 has not been officially confirmed for Australia.

However, Volkswagen Australia’s corporate communications chief Paul Pottinger told carsales that it would be “the ideal vehicle to start the ID rollout in Australia”.

Pottinger said 2022 was the target to launch an electric vehicle here and that VW Australia would have “more to say” on its local EV strategy before the end of the year.

“There is a limited, if growing, capacity for batteries and EV production for which Australia competes with other markets,” he said.

He added that low-emission vehicles will continue to trickle slowly into the country given that “Euro 6 emissions regulations and first-world petrol quality are still seven years away for Australia”.

“[Australia’s] outdated regulatory environment that often prevents the importing of the latest internal combustion engines also makes it difficult to mount a robust case for EV prioritisation,” he said.

Related: Volkswagen ID.3 2020 Review

Volkswagen will first offer the ID.4 with a 77kWh battery pack providing a 520km range and a mid-spec 150kW motor.

In this spec, the ID.4 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds and has a 160km/h top speed – relatively sedate by EV standards.

Recharging the 77kWh battery on a 125kW or higher DC fast-charger will add 320km in 30 minutes, claims Volkswagen.

Two other motor options will be added for the 77kWh ID.4 variants, topping and tailing the range with 225kW (via a high-performance dual-motor set-up) and 129kW.

Another more affordable battery pack and powertrains will be offered in due course, with entry-level rear-drive models getting a 52kWh battery system and 109kW electric motor. The smaller battery pack will be available with a 125kW motor as well.

Thanks to a flat underbody and aerodynamic body work, the ID.4 cuts through the air with low wind resistance, with 0.28Cd drag coefficient.

The ID.4 SUV is roughly the same size as a Toyota RAV4 on the outside but due to its bespoke EV platform architecture (MEB), the Volkswagen says the five-seat SUV has interior space similar to vehicle a class larger.

Boot space is claimed to be 543 litres – one litre more than the RAV4 – which expands to 1575 litres when the rear seats are folded down.

The new EV measures 4584mm long, 1852mm wide and 1612mm high, and rides on a 2766mm wheelbase, the latter quite long by mid-size SUV standards.

Fitted with a simple, spartan interior, the VW ID.4 is built to a budget – in EV terms.

Standard features include a 10-inch central infotainment touch-screen display, while up-spec models will get a 12-inch touch-screen.

A small 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster sits behind a hi-tech steering wheel with capacitive-touch functionality.

Specification across the model grades will include alloy wheels up to 21 inches in diameter, LED matrix headlights, a panoramic glass roof, wireless phone charging, adaptive dampers and leather-like seats.

The usual range of safety features will be offered, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring.

While over-the-air software updates will ensure the ID.4’s features can be updated regularly like a Tesla, Volkswagen is targeting mainstream buyers with the new model.

“By targeting compact crossover buyers, they’re [Volkswagen] making a calculated decision to pull from a broader, more open-minded consumer base that’s less likely to be swept up in the Elon Musk frenzy,” Jessica Caldwell, an automotive market analyst at Edmunds, told the LA Times.

It’s not yet clear how the new model will be positioned in Australia as it’s likely to be relatively expensive compared to petrol-powered SUVs, but in the USA it will be pitched at high-volume rivals like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, rather than the Tesla Model Y.