VW has given its ID Crozz a proper name, the ID.4,  and it’s the first electric crossover to be built by Volkswagen.

CAR MAKERS are moving to electric drivetrains and motor shows are turning into virtual webcasts. That’s the current state of affairs in 2020, even if both are forced hands due to government regulation.

Forgoing a large crowded launch as per the norm for a Geneva Motor Show unveil, German carmaker Volkswagen lifted the sheets on its first fully-electric SUV, the ID.4, during an online video presentation overnight.

The blue crossover is the follow up to the ID.3, an electric hatch which is essentially a Golf EV. Like ID.3, the new ID.4 is based on VW’s new modular electric drive matrix (MEB) platform. Think of it as the EV equivalent of MQB which underpins many of Audi, Skoda and VW’s cars.

The ID.4 is set to launch in Europe this year, followed by the China market (where booming EV sales have dried up somewhat), and then the US. It is expected to arrive in Australia after 2022, where EV uptake is still low. However, this SUV will likely have a greater impact than the smaller ID.3, if petrol and diesel segment trends are anything to go by.

Details are scarce, but VW says the ID.4 is good for 500km driving range on a single charge of its low, centrally-located high voltage battery pack. That’s becoming a standard range for good electric vehicle cars.

“Just like the ID.3, the ID.4 will also come onto the market as a carbon-neutral vehicle,” says VW CEO Ralf Brandstätter.

“We will produce and sell the ID.4 in Europe, China and the U.S.”

It will be available with rear- and all-wheel drive layouts, from either a single or dual motor arrangement and feature a full ‘digital interior’ of screens and controls. You can expect more details to come closer to its European launch.

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