Volkswagen ID.4, the electric SUV pitched at the millions, not millionaires
Volkswagen advertised its first fully electric crossover as a car for the millions rather than the millionaires, and one American executive claimed it drove like a GTI with the purpose of the Beetle. Within months it was World Car of the Year, and it went on to be built on two continents.
Previewed by the I.D. Crozz concepts at the Shanghai and Frankfurt shows in 2017, a camouflaged prototype slipped quietly into the 2019 Frankfurt show so as not to upstage the ID.3. The production ID.4 was presented worldwide on 23 September 2020 as the second model in the ID. family and, unlike its hatchback sibling, targeted North America as a core market from the start. It beat the Honda e and Toyota Yaris to World Car of the Year 2021.
Early cars drove the rear wheels with a single motor, with a dual-motor version added later; the sporty GTX reaches 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds. A light strip under the windscreen, called ID. Light, signals charge level and brake warnings, and an optional heat pump using carbon dioxide as refrigerant warms the cabin two to three times more efficiently than a resistance heater. The boot holds 543 litres, but there is no front storage compartment. From model year 2024 a new motor producing up to 210 kW brought more power and efficiency together.
Batteries sit in the floor, built from modules of 24 cells, and a liquid cooling system keeps them near 25 °C. Supply shifted over time: LG Energy Solution packs originally charged at up to 125 kW, raised to 135 kW by an over-the-air update, while later SK On packs reached 170 kW and, from 2024, 175 kW, cutting a 10 to 80 percent charge to 28 minutes.
European cars come from Zwickau and, since May 2022, Emden. North American production moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, from July 2022, earning Top Safety Pick+ ratings from 2021 to 2023, before the plant halted ID.4 output in April 2026. China gets two versions from separate joint ventures, and Australia received the car in 2025. A coupe-roofed twin, the ID.5, has been built since January 2022 with a slightly lower drag coefficient of 0.26.
Source: Volkswagen ID.4
