Volkswagen ID.4 production in Zwickau starts ahead of Sept debut; Chattanooga production to start in 2022

Volkswagen ID.4 images from Chinese government filing

Production for the Volkswagen ID.4 has commenced at the automaker’s manufacturing plant in Zwickau, Germany, ahead of the all-electric SUV’s world debut scheduled for the end of September. With the ID.4 set to go on sale in Europe, China and the United States, production of the brand’s first fully electric SUV has started in Anting, China, and the Chattanooga, Tennessee facility will commence production in 2022.

“We are right on schedule with the Volkswagen brand’s transformation process to e-mobility. Given the major societal challenges of recent months, the successful start of ID.4 series production is an exceptional achievement, so my appreciation and thanks go especially to the Volkswagen team in Saxony and all members of the ID team,” said Volkswagen board member for e-mobility Thomas Ulbrich.

The ID.4 is the brand’s second model – after the ID.3 – to be built upon the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform for fully electric vehicles, where its high-voltage battery is located near the centre of the vehicle for a low centre of gravity and ‘extremely well-balanced’ weight distribution, as well as to allow for a spacious cabin, Volkswagen had said.

Previously the birthplace of the Passat, Golf and Polo, the Zwickau facility is the brand’s first to be fully converted to electric vehicle manufacturing with investments currently at 1.2 billion euros (RM5.9 billion), and all conversion work is on track to be completed this year, say Volkswagen. 2021 will be the first full year of EV production at Zwickau, and around 300,000 MEB-based EVs are expected to roll out of the facility.

The ID.4 will initially debut in a rear-wheel-drive configuration with a battery range of 500 km, and produce 204 PS and 310 Nm from a rear-axle motor. A subsequent all-wheel-drive version will add a front-axle motor with 102 PS and 140 Nm of torque, for a total system output of 306 PS. According to earlier reports, a 150 kW fast charger enables charging to 80% capacity within 30 minutes.

Though the ID.4 has yet to be officially revealed in full, Volkswagen’s fully electric SUV has been shown in Chinese government filings, which requires automakers to submit images of vehicles in full production form in order to receive type approval in China. Documents for this purpose also confirm that the ID.4 will measure 4,592 mm long, 1,852 mm wide and 1,629 mm tall with a 2,765 mm wheelbase, Autocar reported earlier.

GALLERY: Volkswagen ID.4

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