Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Volkswagen steps up electric offensive: Series production of ID.4 begins in Zwickau
august 24, 2020 - Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen steps up electric offensive: Series production of ID.4 begins in Zwickau

Aug 20, 2020

  • Following the ID.3¹, the second ID. model goes into series production
  • Ralf Brandstätter, Volkswagen brand CEO: “With the ID.4², Volkswagen is adding an all-electric vehicle to its offering in the compact SUV class, the world’s largest growth segment.”

Herndon, VA — Volkswagen’s electric offensive continues to gather speed: Series production of the brand’s first all-electric SUV, the #ID.4, gets underway in #Zwickau. The world premiere of the #ID.4 follows at the end of September. Volkswagen is thus underscoring its ambition to become the world market leader in e-mobility. To this end, the Group is investing some €33 billion in the period to 2024, €11 billion of which have been earmarked for the Volkswagen brand. The brand expects to produce 1.5 million electric cars in 2025.

“With the #ID.4, Volkswagen is adding an all-electric vehicle to its offering in the compact SUV class, the world’s largest growth segment”, #ralfbrandstatter, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, said. “Following the ID.3, this is already the second model based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB). Going forward, the car will be built and sold in Europe, in China, and later also in the USA. That is how we are scaling the MEB platform globally and laying the economic foundations for the success of our lineup of long-range electric vehicles.”

Board Member for E-mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, said: “We are right on schedule with the Volkswagen brand’s transformation process to e-mobility. The ID.3 is now being followed by the #ID.4. 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. The second model in the VW #ev family is already rolling off the assembly line where, only recently, ICEs were still being built.”

Zwickau plays a key role in the system changeover to e-mobility: For the first time, a large car manufacturing plant is being entirely converted to e-mobility, with investments running at some €1.2 billion. All conversion work will be completed as scheduled this year. In 2021, the first full production year as an #ev factory, some 300,000 electric vehicles based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB) will leave the #Zwickau plant. We anticipate the site will therefore become the largest #ev factory in Europe and a trailblazer in the transformation of Volkswagen’s global production network. Preparations to roll out the electric SUV at the international level are also in full swing. Pre-production of the #ID.4 has already started at the Anting plant in China, the Chattanooga site will start the #ID.4 production in 2022.

The #ID.4 is based on Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix (MEB). This is an all-electric platform that maximizes the opportunities offered by e-mobility. With its low drag coefficient of 0.28 and scalable battery system, the #ID.4 is engineered to cover over 500 kilometers based on the European WLTP test cycle. EPA estimated range for the #ID.4 is not yet available. The vehicle also offers plenty of interior space, and the powerful proportions lend an ultra-modern look to the exterior.

The SUV will initially be launched with rear-wheel drive, while an electric all-wheel drive version will be added a later date. The high-voltage battery is positioned in the sandwich-design underbody to create an optimum, low center of gravity in terms of driving dynamics, along with an extremely well-balanced axle load distribution. Like all models based on the new modular electric drive matrix (MEB), the #ID.4 will be very spacious thanks to its compact electric drive technology. The cockpit of the zero direct-emission SUV is clearly structured and consistently digitalized; operation is largely via touch surfaces and intuitive voice control.

For Volkswagen, the #ID.4 and ID.3 are important milestones as the brand sets its course toward complete carbon neutrality by 2050 – aligned with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Like the ID.3, its sister model the #ID.4 electric SUV sets new benchmarks in sustainability: the electric SUV will be handed over to customers in Europe with a carbon-neutral footprint.

With its resolute entry into e-mobility, Volkswagen is making an important contribution to helping lower CO2 emissions and thereby creating long-term perspectives for some 100,000 employees at its German plants. Apart from manufacturing at the #Zwickau factory, the Components plants in Brunswick, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg are also involved in the production of electric vehicles. They manufacture key components such as the electric motors or the battery systems. The ID.3 will also be built at the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden from 2021. The car manufacturing plants in Emden and Hanover are scheduled to begin building electric vehicles from 2022. 

About Volkswagen 
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia. Volkswagen’s operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Arteon, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Golf, Golf GTI, Jetta, Jetta GLI, Passat, and Tiguan vehicles through more than 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen online at www.vw.com or media.vw.com to learn more.

“VW”, “Volkswagen”, all model names and the Volkswagen logo are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This information and any vehicle specifications are preliminary and subject to change. 

¹ ID.3: power consumption in kWh/100 km (NEDC): 15.4 - 14.5 (combined); combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 0; efficiency class: A+

² #ID.4 The vehicle is not yet available for sale in Europe

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