Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV leaked

Volkswagen’s first electric SUV has been outed early.

Leaked photos of the all-new Volkswagen ID.4 – a battery-powered mid-size SUV that promises 500km of range – reveal a clean, simple design that matches the camouflaged vehicle in official images released earlier this year.

Vital statistics of the Volkswagen ID.4, which will compete with electric SUVs like the upcoming Tesla Model Y, were also leaked, including exterior dimensions that make it roughly the size of Australia’s top-selling SUV, the Toyota RAV4 – at 4592mm long and 1852mm wide.

The apparently official images of the high-tech the VW ID.4 EV (in 'X' and 'Crozz' spec) were posted by VWIDtalk after the Chinese ministry of information and technology made images and details public.

The vehicle pictured has a 150kW output, thanks to a single electric motor.

Pricing for the Volkswagen ID.4 will start below €30,000 ($A50,000) in Europe and three lithium-ion battery choices will be offered – 45kWh, 58kWh and range-topping 77kWh. The biggest and most expensive battery offers a maximum claimed range of around 500km on a full battery charge.

It’s not clear where Volkswagen Australia intends to position the ID.4 here, but the most affordable electric SUV currently available in Australia is the Hyundai Kona Electric ($60,740). The MG ZS EV will soon steal that title when it launches here, priced at $46,990 drive-away.

The Volkswagen ID.4 is based on the same dedicated EV platform architecture (called MEB), which will be shared with Ford of Europe, as the Golf-sized ID.3 small hatch and several other future EVs including a Kombi-chanelling people-mover.

Volkswagen Australia had plans for the ID.4 to spearhead its local EV assault by late 2022 or 2023, but as we reported last month those plans are now in doubt.

Volkswagen Group Australia’s managing director Michael Bartsch said several factors are thwarting the planned rollout, including strong demand in Europe, the temporary closure of VW’s European factories due to the coronavirus and the lack of a CO2 tax or EV incentives Down Under.

“We are going to compete – at least in the early years – for supply with what’s going on in the Northern Hemisphere,” he said.

“So the entire effort is going to be focussed on the Northern Hemisphere to avoid the fines and things that will come from breaching NOX and CO2 thresholds. If there’s no legal government imperative driving the agenda in Australia, why prioritise us?”

As carsales also reported earlier in the month, in lieu of government action, the Australian automotive industry is seeking to establish a voluntary CO2 code that would more closely mimic Europe’s strict emissions regulations.

In preparation for the release of a range of EVs here, Volkswagen Group Australia has already announced the establishment of a new national EV training centre in Melbourne, in partnership with Porsche.