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Volkswagen’s upcoming ID 4 has been displayed again as the maker confirms it will also be produced in China alongside the ID 3. The electric crossover-style SUV will be a big part of the VW ID brand’s range offensive in the US, as well as in Europe. Previous spyshots gave us the best glimpse of the production model next to its hatchback sibling. The bodywork similarities of the two prototypes suggest the ID 4 will be closely linked to the ID 3 it is testing alongside, albeit slightly larger and sporting more evident SUV design cues. The ID 4 was on show at Frankfurt inside a glass box and wrapped in a similar pattern. The set-up was similar to that used by VW when it launched pre-sales for the ID 3 hatch earlier this year. Although VW was giving away little information about the car at Frankfurt, to keep the focus on the company rebranding and the launch of the production ID 3, the Kia e-Niro rival is set to go into production next year. Despite the camouflage, the new EV appears to retain many of the same exterior themes as the ID Crozz concept car, which was first shown more than two years ago and then reworked for the 2017 Frankfurt motor show. Volkswagen ID 3 2020 review Two production versions of the ID Crozz will be offered: a coupé-SUV in the vein of the original concept and this straight SUV model with a more conventional roofline and tailgate design. We can also see it has conventional rear doors, ditching the sliding items of the 2017 car. It’s not yet clear if the coupé variant will also adopt this approach, but it’s likely. The ID 4 will be built in Europe, the US and China, cementing its status as a truly global model and a crucial kingpin of the brand’s rapid EV rollout. “As early as 2020, we aim to sell 100,000 all-electric Volkswagens (per year),” said VW Group chairman Herbert Diess at the Crozz concept’s 2017 unveiling. “But this is just the beginning. By 2025, annual sales could increase tenfold to one million vehicles.” Diess said the new ID electric car line-up will be offered alongside traditional combustion-engined and hybrid-powered VW models. The ID 4 aims to combine the dynamic lines of a modern-day sports car with the all-terrain capability of a dedicated off-roader. It’s said to offer interior space on a par with the Tiguan Allspace, a new long-wheelbase version of VW’s best-selling SUV model. The ID Crozz concept is 4625mm long, 1891mm wide and 1609mm tall, putting it in between the five-seat Tiguan and seven-seat Tiguan Allspace in terms of dimensions. The wheelbase is 2773mm. The MEB-based ID Crozz features two electric motors – one mounted within the front axle, and one at the rear – powered by an 83kWh lithium ion battery housed within the floor structure. The front electric motor sends its 101bhp and 103lb ft to the front wheels. The rear unit delivers 201bhp and 228lb ft to the rear wheels, giving the car a combined output of 302bhp and 332lb ft of torque. This is just under 100bhp more than the powertrain used by the rear-wheel-drive ID hatchback, intended to offset a likely weight increase. The ID 4 is set to have a range of more than 311 miles, with no specific figure yet quoted. No performance figures have been revealed, though VW says it intends limiting the top speed to 112mph. With the car’s large battery mounted low down within the floor structure and the electric motors also housed within the axle assemblies front and rear, VW also claims it possesses a front-to-rear weight distribution of 48:52. VW officials have talked up the dynamic qualities, suggesting the new platform and chassis provide a “large spread between handling and
Origin: Volkswagen ID 4: 2020 electric SUV shown in disguised form

Volkswagen says the ID 3’s name comes from the firm’s internal nomenclature for the compact A-segment, and the new model’s opening of the third major chapter in the brand’s history, after the Beetle and Golf. The title also “signals the potential for expansion” into bigger and smaller models in the future. Volkswagen sales boss Jürgen Stackmann said that the start of ID pre-booking ushered in “the third major chapter of strategic importance in the history of our brand, following the Beetle and the Golf”. He added: “With the ID 3, we are making the electric car fit for mass mobility.” Stackmann said that the ID 3 represented a “major milestone” for Volkswagen, adding: “The world is currently in a process of transformation. Volkswagen is not only part of, but is also shaping, this transformation. “We are pursuing a focused powertrain strategy. Volkswagen has opted consistently for the battery-electric drive system. This is currently the most efficient technology for reducing CO2 emissions and meeting the ambitious CO2 reduction targets. E-mobility will become our lead technology.” The ID range is understood to be planned to run from one to 10, with the numbers replacing the titles given to previously seen concepts: the ID Crozz SUV, Vizzion saloon, Buzz MPV and van and Roomzz luxury SUV. Autocar has also revealed the firm is working on an entry-level ‘people’s car’. Volkswagen says the ID 3 First edition will be priced at under €40,000 (£34,000) in Germany, with customers in the UK required to pay a £750 deposit. UK pricing details have yet to be confirmed, and the pre-booking will only be open for the 30,000 special editions, although those who secure a slot can cancel their order with a full refund. The UK is one of the “key” markets for the car, alongside Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and France. Customers who pre-book an ID 3 will be able to order their cars after it is launched at this year’s Frankfurt motor show in September. Those orders will become binding in April 2020, with customers able to cancel and obtain a full refund until then. The First edition will be offered in a choice of four colours and three versions, all featuring large wheel rims. There will also be three trim levels – First, First Plus and First Max – although only the Plus trim will be offered in the UK. This will feature “extensive” comfort features including voice control, a navigation system, exterior IQ lighting and a bi-colour exterior and interior design. In the markets where it is available, the range-topping Max trim includes a panoramic sunroof and augmented-reality head-up display. Volkswagen also said the ID 3 First edition will be offered with 2000kWh of free charging at public charging points using the firm’s We Charge app, on a European charging network. That includes charge points on the Ionity network, which is expanding into the UK. VW also has a deal with Tesco to install 600 rapid chargers at its supermarkets by 2020, although it is not yet confirmed if access to these would be part of the 2000kWh deal. The ID 3 is 4100mm long, 1800mm wide and 1530mm high, making it 155mm longer, 9mm wider and 77mm higher than the seventh-generation Golf, although the electric powertrain means that it is set to offer substantially more interior space. Stackmann added: “From the outside, the ID 3 will be as large as a Golf. In the interior, it will be as spacious as a medium-sized car.” ID 3 production run will start at Volkswagen’s Zwickau factory near the end of this year. The firm is aiming to deliver more than 100,000 examples in 2020, with 110,000 on average per year afterwards. That is part of VW’s goal to sell more than 10 million electric vehicles in the next 10
Origin: Volkswagen ID 3: new Nissan Leaf rival seen barely disguised