Volkswagen announced today that it started production of its new ID.4 electric SUV at its Zwickau factory in Germany ahead of its official world premiere that’s scheduled for the end of September.
In a Tuesday announcement largely surrounding questions about electric cars, VW quietly slotted in news about the ID.4 and said the vehicle will debut “in a matter of weeks,” explains a new report from CNN.
Zwickau is Volkswagen’s first factory to be completely converted to electric vehicle production — it is now set up to exclusively produce vehicles using its MEB platform, the German automaker’s electric vehicle platform supporting its next-generation electric cars.
“The ID.4 could help Volkswagen compete with Tesla, which already offers an electric SUV called the Model Y,” notes CNN. “Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury brand, has been producing an electric SUV called the e-tron at a factory in Brussels, Belgium, since late 2018.”
Volkswagen’s Board Member for E-mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, added:
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 ID. family is already rolling off the assembly line where, only recently, ICEs were still being built.
Ralf Brandstätter, head of the Volkswagen brand, said in a statement that the ID.4 allows the carmaker to offer an electric vehicle in “the world’s largest growth segment.” He said the SUV will initially be built and sold in Europe and China, with US production slated to begin in 2022 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
