Demonstration car of the VW ID.4 - still in camouflage - on Dresden's Neumarkt
Photo:Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
Volkswagen has started building the second model in its new electric series at the Zwickau plant. The ID.4 SUV complements the ID.3 mid-range car, which is also produced at the Saxon location. Both are the prelude to a series of fully electric cars that will form the basis for other Group vehicles in the years to come. VW will invest a total of around 33 billion euros in e-mobility by 2024, a third of which is for the core brand.
At the end of September, the compact city SUV will be presented to the public, as the automaker announced on Thursday. Volkswagen specifies a range of up to 500 kilometers for the ID.4. The company plans to build and sell the model in Europe, China and later also in the USA. Like the ID.3, it is based on the modular electrical construction kit. The platform should provide uniform technology for different models and also save costs by using the same parts in large production quantities.
The Zwickau plant plays a decisive role in the transition to e-mobility for the world's largest car company. With investments of 1.2 billion euros, the factory will be converted to exclusively manufacturing electric cars by the end of this year - the Golf Variant had previously also been manufactured here. Many employees were retrained and trained. In the coming year, only fully electric vehicles will be produced at the location - around 300,000 electric cars are to be built in Zwickau every year. VW is now talking about the largest electric car plant in Europe.
The Saxon factory is something like the nucleus of pure electrical production. More Volkswagen plants will gradually be added, for example Emden and Hanover from 2022. Production of the ID.4 is also planned in the USA (Chattanooga) and China (Anting). The CO2 balance of the new e-models should be neutral.
VW boss Diess tests ID.3 while on vacation
In November 2019, VW started building the ID.3 in Zwickau. From 2021 it will also come from the "Gläserne Manufaktur" in Dresden, the former production site of the luxury Phaeton limousine.
After delays in the software, the group wants to deliver the first ID.3 copies according to the latest statements by sales manager Jürgen Stackmann (58) from September 14th. Initially there was general talk of an appointment in summer, then of the start in most European countries from the second week of September (7th to 13th September).
In June it was said that the cars would not yet have the full range of functions. Because of the complexity of the IT, customers therefore received a few subsequent updates. CEO Herbert Diess (61) had tested the ID.3 himself during his vacation, he was recently driving for two weeks in northern Italy.
cr / dpa-afx
