The relatively affordable 400-kilometre range crossover SUV will be rolled out first in Quebec and British Columbia this summer before becoming more widely available in 2022

Volkswagen’s ID.4, the German auto giant’s first fully-electric SUV, will debut on roads in Quebec and British Columbia this summer, at a somewhat pocket-friendly starting price of $44,995 — less than many competing offerings. The vehicle will be available across Canada in 2022.

The ID.4, originally unveiled last September, features an estimated single-charge range of 400 kilometres and is available in both rear and all-wheel drive — the former option will deliver 201 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque. A DC fast charger will power 75 per cent of the ID.4’s 82-kWh battery in 38 minutes, according to Volkswagen, whereas a level 2 charge will take 7.5 hours.

The ID.4’s price tag will allow Canadian purchasers to benefit from the $5,000 federal EV purchase incentive, which is applicable on electric vehicles with a base price under $45,000. The price point also gives it a competitive position in the wider electric SUV market; Tesla’s Model Y and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E are each priced several thousand dollars higher, whereas Hyundai’s Kona Electric costs roughly the same as the ID.4.

Greater availability in 2022

As of this summer, the ID.4 is only being produced in Volkswagen’s Zwickau, Germany plant. A new production facility will be opened in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2022 to boost North American ID.4 production. The first vehicles — the base ID.4 — will be available in BC and Quebec in late summer, 2021and fully available across Canada when the Tennessee plant is up and running. The AWD version will arrive to the same provincial markets in late 2021.

Volkswagen’s decision to first roll out the ID.4 in British Columbia and Quebec is a reflection of those province’s leading EV adoption rates — at nine per cent and nearly eight per cent, respectively, according to Statistics Canada data — within Canada. This is due, in part, to their provincial purchase rebate programs, which offer even further upfront cost relief to buyers and their larger populations. After debuting in these two markets, Volkswagen will expand distribution to Ontario, which has an adoption rate of 2 per cent despite being Canada’s most populous province, and then after that to the rest of the country.

An electric family

The ID.4 is one of 75 all-electric models Volkswagen says it will release worldwide by 2029. As a company, it pledged to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

As of 2021, the only other battery electric Volkswagen available in Canada is the e-Golf electric sedan. The next addition in Volkswagen’s “ID family” of electric vehicles will be the ID Buzz, an electrified version of the classic VW Microbus set to be launched in 2023.

At the time of the ID.4’s unveiling, Patrick Danielson, director of product planning for Volkswagen Canada, noted that VW staff would receive upgraded training in order to educate potential buyers on the nature of EV ownership and operation.

“We’re going to be ensuring that each and every one of our dealerships has a salesperson that is… almost a product genius, who can really dive into the details and explain the lifestyle attributes that come along with owning an EV… and be able to highlight all of those great features that are different from a gasoline vehicle,” said Danielson.