Having conducted feasibility studies for the better part of the last two years, Volkswagen has finally decided to introduce its first electric vehicle (EV) in India in 2024. The first VW EV for the Indian market will be the Volkswagen ID.4, which will go on sale towards the end of the year. Showcased at the company’s annual brand conference in Jaipur, the ID.4 electric crossover will initially be available only in 10 cities across India that presently constitute a majority of premium and luxury EV sales in the country, and the brand will also set up fast-charging infrastructure at dealerships that sell the ID.4, a senior company official confirmed.
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“The ID.4 is being introduced as a full import, and at the price points we will be introducing it at, it won’t be a volume car. So in the first phase of the ID.4 introduction, we will be focusing on 10 cities which constitute 80 per cent of premium EV car sales in India right now”, Volkswagen India brand director Ashish Gupta told carandbike on the sidelines of the event.
The ID.4 was showcased at the 2024 Volkswagen Annual Brand Conference, in Jaipur.
While the names of the cities have not been disclosed, the ID.4 is set to go on sale in most of the major metros, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, in the first phase. During the interaction, Gupta confirmed the company will ship the right-hand drive version of the electric crossover, manufactured in Europe for the United Kingdom, to India, under the provision that allows manufacturers to import up to 2,500 vehicles annually without having to homologate them.
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In the six to eight months that precede the launch of the ID.4, Volkswagen India will focus on setting up charging infrastructure at select dealerships in the 10 cities where the electric crossover will initially be sold. Along with that, training will be imparted to dealer and service staff on battery storage and handling of high-voltage components, and Volkswagen is evaluating suppliers for DC fast chargers, confirmed Gupta, but the charging capacities planned remain under wraps for now.
Being a full import, the ID.4 is set to attract as much as 70 per cent import duty, which will push it closer to the Kia EV6 from a price point of view. Gupta refrained from commenting on if the Volkswagen Group intends to apply for benefits under India’s newly-introduced EV policy for cars, which conditionally lowers import duty on electric cars to 15 per cent, provided a manufacturer commits to making a minimum investment of USD 500 million in setting up a production facility in the country.
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The ID.4 gained a larger, 12.9-inch touchscreen with a recent upgrade.
The ID.4, which is based on the VW Group’s dedicated MEB architecture, is available overseas with two battery options – 52 kWh and 77 kWh. Of the two, the larger battery is the one that is likely to be introduced here, on the single-motor, rear-wheel drive model. Thanks to a significant update in 2023, the single-motor ID.4 now has a more powerful drive system – named APP 550 – which boosts power to 282 bhp and 545 Nm of torque.
While VW is yet to finalise the spec for the Indian market, the ID.4 is also likely to be introduced with the DCC adaptive chassis control system here. The updated ID.4 also has a larger, 12.9-inch touchscreen and the IDA voice assistant that integrates ChatGPT functionality.
