US: The 'Cheap' Volkswagen ID.4 Is Coming 'In The $35,000 Range'

The company says that it could quadruple sales in 2021 if it's able to make enough cars.

Volkswagen ID.4

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Jan 7, 2022 at 5:07pm ET

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Volkswagen closed the year 2021 with almost 17,000 ID.4 sales in the U.S. but the number could be 4 times higher, according to the company's representative.

The company has more than 40,000 reservations but is supply constrained, as the cars are imported from Europe.

Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh said (via Automotive News):

"We could have sold four times that amount. What VW dealers are saying is that this is the most excitement they've had on the shop floor since 1998, when we brought the Beetle back."

Currently, the Volkswagen ID.4 is offered in RWD and AWD versions, with a single 82 kWh battery version.

In 2022, the car will get an upgrade (including range) while the lineup will be expanded by a new, less expensive version with a smaller battery (probably 62 kWh or so). This new entry-level ID.4 with RWD will start at around $35,000 - "in the $35,000 range."

That would be about $5,000 less than in the case of ID.4 Pro (82 kWh, RWD).

Prices

Model Base Price Dest. Charge Tax Credit Effective Price 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro 19" $39,995 +$1,195 $7,500 $33,690 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S 19" $44,495 +$1,195 $7,500 $38,190 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro 19" $43,675 +$1,195 $7,500 $37,370 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S 19" $48,175 +$1,195 $7,500 $41,870

Basic specs

Model Drive Battery
(kWh) EPA
Range 0-60
mph
(sec) 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro 19" RWD 82 260 mi
(418 km) 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S 19" RWD 82 250 mi
(402 km) 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro 19" AWD 82 249 mi
(401 km) 5.7 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S 19" AWD 82 240 mi
(386 km)

The key element of Volkswagen's expansion of the MEB-based electric cars is the Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, which will start production of the ID.4 later this year using battery cells from the new SK Innovation's SK On plant in Georgia.

It will not be sufficient to replace 100% of the imports at the beginning and still, Made-in-Germany ID.4s will be sold through 2022:

"VW will continue to import ID4s into the U.S. from Europe as it ramps up local production of the BEV compact crossover in Chattanooga this year, with locally produced versions beginning to appear in dealerships in the second half of the year, Keogh said" - Automotive News

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Comments

The good news for more than 4,000 employees in Chattanooga is a 10% wage increase in 2022.

The average return on sales in the Volkswagen dealer network - according to the article - was good in 2021 (nearly 5% and three times more than in 2020). Hopefully, it will encourage to push electrification.