The Upcoming Electric SUV From Volkswagen Renamed ID.4

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

The fully-electric Volkswagen ID.4

Geneva wasn't supposed to be an important auto show for Volkswagen's first electric SUV, we know it's going to make its appearance at this year's New York Auto Show. But VW, nonetheless, used the recently canceled Geneva Motor Show as the date for some exciting information on its upcoming EV. Instead of being called the ID Crozz, VW will now call its upcoming electric SUV ID.4. Even better news is that it will come to the U.S.

Our First Look At The ID.4

In addition to confirming the vehicle's name, Volkswagen also took the time to release some photos of the electric SUV. While the EV in the photos is still wearing camouflage, this is the best look at the machine we've gotten so far. Clearly, it's easy to see that the ID.4 looks like a slightly larger version of the ID.3 electric hatchback. While the ID.3 is a Europe-only affair, the ID.4 will be sold in Europe, China, and the U.S. And just like the ID.3, the ID.4 is based on VW's modular MEB architecture that's only for electric vehicles.

There isn't a lot of information on the ID.4 that has been made public, but we do have some specs on the EV. For one, the first few units of the ID.4 will have a single electric motor in the back to be rear-wheel drive. A dual-motor variant that endows the SUV with all-wheel drive will be available down the road. Things like battery capacity aren't known yet, but VW did say that the ID.4 will have a range of up to 500 kilometers on the European WLTP standard. Since the U.S. uses different tests, the figure in America will be much smaller – think around 310 miles.

What We Know So Far

Not much is known about the ID.4's interior, beyond the fact that it should look similar to the ID.3's. In a move that goes directly against Tesla, VW isn't expected to have one single display to control all of the vehicle's functions. What we expect to see in the ID.4 is VW's Digital Cockpit system and advanced voice recognition capability.

The ID.4, in VW's words, will be the first carbon-neutral SUV built at the automaker's Zwickau, Germany plant. In the U.S., the ID.4 will be manufactured in Chattanooga, Tennessee starting in 2022.  

Beyond these things, Volkswagen's still keeping everyone in the dark with the ID.4. All we know is that with the introduction of the electric SUV, the e-Golf is now dead for good. Consumers in the U.S. are still going gaga for SUVs, and it doesn't make sense for VW to have two conflicting EVs when one will do the job well enough. Either way, the ID.4 is one of just many EVs the automaker wants to build, as it has plans to come out with eight electrified cars in 2020.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods