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By Toby Hagon, carsales.com.au
Big business could help make electric cars more affordable, according to Volkswagen.
The German brand is set to introduce its first battery-powered vehicle, the ID.4 mid-sized SUV, to Australia late next year and claims it has already received considerable interest from fleet buyers looking to lower the carbon footprint of businesses.
If the demand for zero emission fleet deals is real, Volkswagen says it could bolster a business case for more affordable, higher volume models in the future.
“We still do get fleet inquiries on EV – when are we bringing them in, how many can we have – so we know that demand is there,” said Volkswagen Australia head of product for passenger vehicles, Michelle Rowney.
In confirming details of the upcoming ID.4 and its coupe-inspired ID.5 sibling, Volkswagen said it would start its EV rollout with the highly specified ID.4 Pro Performance.
Built on a brand-new, dedicated EV platform known as MEB, the ID.4 Pro will be fitted with the largest capacity 82kWh battery pack that provides a WLTP driving range of 522km – and will come loaded with gear likely to include a panoramic sunroof, head-up display, sports seats and 19-inch alloy wheels.
While pricing is yet to be confirmed, Volkswagen says the cutting-edge EV will be priced around the same as top-end versions of the similarly-sized Tiguan mid-size SUV.
“The ID.4 will bring electric performance to a broad customer base with target pricing similar to our most in-demand SUV, the Tiguan 162TSI R-Line,” said Volkswagen Australia brand director Michal Szaniecki.
That would price the ID.4 well under $60,000 and ensure it would take advantage of various state-government EV rebates and incentives available in most parts of the country.
Set to join the ID.4 Pro is a range-topping GTX model with a more sports focus.
Of course, the ID.4 isn’t the only EV confirmed to arrive as part of the Volkswagen Group Australia onslaught, with sister brand Cupra is planning to release its Born electric hatch by mid-2023 while Skoda is hoping to have the Enyaq iV – the ID.4’s sister model – in the market by early 2024.
And the ID.4 also isn’t the only product coming from the Volkswagen brand’s own fast-expanding ID family.
“Arriving at the same time will be the coupe-style ID.5 with pricing similar to a Tiguan R, enabling customers to alternatively pick an even more design-focused BEV,” said Szaniecki.
The Tiguan R sells from $68,990, providing an indication of the positioning of the ID.5.
If that pricing is realised – keeping in mind that high inflation and price rises that have hit every brand over the past two years provide an uncertain backdrop for cars that are still 12 months or more away – it would set the ID.4 and ID.5 up to undercut key rivals such as the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y.
But more affordable ID.4 models are on the way, with Rowney confirming at least one cheaper version “will closely follow” the late 2023 arrival of the original ID.4.
The obvious option is the ID.4 Pure Performance, which gets a more basic level of performance and a smaller 55kWh battery with a claimed WLTP range of 345km.
Volkswagen is evaluating the ID.4 Pure Performance as a model that “takes on a key role during discussions with fleet and government agencies”.
But any expansion of the initial ID.4 range will have to wait for the facelifted model, which is expected to be unveiled globally in 2024.
It’s only then that the ID.4 is likely to sell in bigger numbers locally. Indeed, ID.4 sales will start off slow compared with the boom of the Tesla Model Y, which in September 2022 was the top selling SUV in the country.
Blame it on supply – something that has taken its toll on Volkswagen sales in recent times.
Volkswagen Australia expects to get at least 3000 to 4000 ID.4s to sell in 2024 – but there are plans to ramp up dramatically after that, with Rowney confirming the company is targeting to beat Tesla.
“Our goal is that we will outsell them [Tesla],” she says. “We are a volume brand and that’s what we want to do.
“We don’t look at [ID.4] as it sits in that little EV segment; it sits in the medium SUV segment, it suits the needs of a family car, it suits the needs of that segment.”
Disclaimer: Images supplied by Volkswagen Australia.
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