VW ID.4 Getting Plug & Charge, Bidirectional Charging This Summer

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess brought the long-awaited news during his AMA session on Reddit.

ID.4 charging

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Feb 17, 2022 at 10:45am ET

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VW Group CEO Herbert Diess hosted an AMA session yesterday on Reddit and got asked more than 1,000 questions.

While he couldn't possibly answer all of them, he did offer some long-awaited updates for VW ID.4 owners, especially those in the United States. As it turns out, an important software update the automaker has promised last year is finally arriving this summer.

"We will have a major OTA update for the ID.4 coming this summer, which will add features like Plug & Charge and Auto Hold, as well as a higher capacity onboard charge capability."

The update will arrive in Vehicle to Home (V2H) form, which means ID.4 owners will be able to power their appliances from the car or the entire house in case of a blackout. Diess stopped short of offering specific details, so it will be interesting to see how VW compares to the Hyundai E-GMP platform output of 2-4 kW.

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess during Reddit AMA session

"Bidirectional charging will be available this year for all ID. Models with 77 kWh battery, also via OTA update. In the beginning we will only offer Vehicle-to-home. This means you can run your dishwasher with electricity from abroad."

Later in the AMA session, Diess said bidirectional charging would come to all 2023 VW ID.4 vehicles built with the 77 kWh battery, with earlier models to get it over-the-air.

"Yes, we will offer Plug & Charge on MY23 ID.4s and on earlier cars with an OTA update. Just tested it together with Elke–really convenient, high time for introduction."

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The Reddit AMA is one of the first public events Herbert Diess has attended since December 2021 when its responsibilities as VW Group CEO were reduced as part of an executive reshuffle within the company.

It was decided then that he would largely withdraw from the operational side of the business and focus on group strategy. More specifically, Diess lost responsibility for China and global sales, getting to oversee the CARIAD software division instead.