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VW ID.4 (still camouflaged in July in Dresden)
Photo:
Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
The electric hope bearer ID.3 is with the first customers - now Volkswagen also wants to launch the connection model ID.4 as soon as possible.
The compact SUV is the next in a series that the group is to realign in the coming years.
E-mobility board member
Thomas Ulbrich
(54) and VW core brand boss
Ralf Brandstätter
(52) want to explain further details on the plans and the strategy behind the ID.4 on Thursday.
Production of the car started at the end of August at the Zwickau plant.
The ID.3 has also been manufactured at the Saxon location since November 2019.
The mid-range car is now being sold, but it is behind the original schedule.
Due to problems with the software equipment, customers also have to reload updates in winter, after which all functions should be fully available.
The official launch of the ID.4 is planned for September.
The market launch should then be in the fourth quarter - it could possibly be the beginning of 2021, according to corporate circles.
Volkswagen wants to build and sell the model in Europe, China and later also in North America.
The ramp-up of the electric SUV should "bring e-mobility out of its niche into volume".
While the ID.3 serves the same segment as the decades-long bestseller VW Golf, the ID.4 in the model range with combustion engines corresponds to the VW Tiguan, which is now the second best-selling car model in Germany (after the Golf).
Like the ID.3, the car is based on the modular electrical construction kit (MEB).
The platform should provide uniform technology for different models and save costs by using the same parts in large quantities.
33 billion euros - only for the first wave
The Zwickau plant plays a central role in this.
By the end of this year, the factory will be converted to exclusively manufacturing e-cars, and many employees have been retrained and continued their education.
Gradually, more locations will be added, from 2022 in Emden and Hanover.
4 production is also planned in the USA and China.
The CO2 balance of purely electric vehicles should be neutral.
In a "first wave", the Volkswagen Group plans to invest 33 billion euros in expanding the range of electric vehicles to include more than 70 models, a third of which is attributable to the core brand.
In addition to the VW ID.3, Audi Q4 E-Tron and Porsche Taycan, these will include the ID.4, the electric Bulli ID.Buzz, the Skoda Enyaq and the Seat Cupra el-Born.
Around 35 start-ups based on the modular electrical system are planned by 2024.
By 2025, a fifth of all deliveries in the group should be battery-electric models.
ak / dpa-afx