Volkswagen to test ID.4 electric SUV in India from 2023

Volkswagen is taking its India 2.0 strategy very seriously. It all started with the BS6 era kicking in – Volkswagen became a petrol-only carmaker, the arrival of newer limited-run SUVs like T-Roc and Tiguan AllSpace, discontinuation of Polo and Vento and launches of MQB A0-IN-based cars like Taigun and Virtus. Now, Volkswagen India has surprised everyone by announcing that it will be starting its electric mobility era in India soon. Upon successful testing of the electric SUV, limited units of the model will be sold in India. These vehicles will reach India through the CBU route.

During the launch of the all-new Virtus sedan on 9th June, Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen’s passenger cars division, said that the company will import a couple of units of ID.4 for testing purposes during August-September 2022. The ID.4 will be tested in the Indian geographical conditions to test its suitability to the Indian roads and climatic conditions.

After the conclusion of these tests, Volkswagen will launch the ID.4 sometime in 2023. Initially, the Volkswagen ID.4 will be launched in limited numbers through the CBU route, much like how the Kia EV6 was launched in India recently. The number of import units might rise after some time once the issues about the shortage of semiconductor chips get sorted.

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In addition to confirming the launch of the ID.4, Gupta also said that Volkswagen is planning to start local production of electric vehicles in India between 2025 to 2027. Apart from locally assembling EVs in India, Volkswagen is also looking forward to manufacturing battery packs for its electric vehicles here in India only.

Volkswagen ID.4

Based on Volkswagen’s all-electric MEB architecture, the ID.4 SUV is one of the first pure-electric cars from the German carmaker. With a coupe-like design, it is currently one of the most good-looking electric cars with all modern elements like sleek-looking LED daytime running lamps and tail lamps, full-LED headlamps and 21-inch alloy wheels. On the inside too, the SUV looks very youthful with a unique colour combination for cabin layout and features like a full-TFT instrument console and touchscreen infotainment system with wireless connectivity options and connected car tech.

Globally, the Volkswagen ID.4 is available in two iterations. The base variant has a single-motor, two-wheel-drive setup, which claims 204 bhp of maximum power, while the range-topping GTX variant has a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup, which produces 299 bhp of maximum power. Both these iterations of the ID.4 have a 77 kWh battery pack as standard, which delivers 520 km of range in the two-wheel-drive variant and 480 km in the all-wheel-drive variant.

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