The ID.4 will soon be rolling off the assembly line in Germany
Photo: Volkswagen
Thursday was a big day for the burgeoning electric vehicle segment. As one of the auto industry’s leaders in EV development, Volkswagen has been hyping its upcoming ID.4 electric SUV for some time now. Despite the COVID-related delays and setbacks that plagued the industry this year, VW announced that the ID.4 would still be hitting dealerships in 2020. As of yesterday, VW ID.4 production has officially kicked off in Germany.
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The beginning of VW ID.4 production
Volkswagen’s road to the ID.4 has been a long one. One of the automaker’s goals with its ID. family of electric vehicles was to create a standard platform upon which a new generation of EVs could be constructed. This new modular electric drive matrix would become known as the MEB, and would make its debut in 2019 when VW’s ID.3 hit dealerships.
VW’s next step was converting its factories into EV-producing plants that could manufacture vehicles on the MEB platform. The first plant to undergo this transformation was the Zwickau factory in Germany. After more than a year of producing ID.3s, the plant has now begun producing the new ID.4, as well.
“With the ID.4, Volkswagen is adding an all-electric vehicle to its offering in the compact SUV class, the world’s largest growth segment,” said VW brand CEO Ralf Brandstätter. “Going forward, the car will be built and sold in Europe, in China, and later also in the USA. That is how we are scaling the MEB platform globally and laying the economic foundations for the success of our ID. family.” VW’s Board Member for E-mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, also voiced his enthusiasm for the ID.4, stating, “We are right on schedule with the Volkswagen brand’s transformation process to e-mobility… Given the major societal challenges of recent months, the successful start of ID.4 series production is an exceptional achievement.”
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The ID.4 will be officially unveiled to the world in September. With production now underway, Volkswagen is aiming to unleash 300,000 electric vehicles from the Zwickau plant next year. The automaker’s ultimate goal is to produce 1.5 million EVs by 2025.
Daniel DiManna hails from little Sylvania, Ohio. A graduate of Lourdes University with a degree in Fine Arts (which has thus far proven about as useful as a wet paper towel), Daniel’s hobbies/passions include film history, reading, fiction/non-fiction writing, sculpting, gaining weight, and adding more toys, posters, books, model kits, DVD’s, screen-used props, and other ephemera to his already shamefully monumental collection of Godzilla/movie monster memorabilia. His life goals include a return trip to Japan, getting a podcast off the ground, finishing his novel, and yes, buying even more monster toys. See more articles by Daniel.
