“The ID.4 to become an electrically powered world car”

Mr. Brandstätter, the ID.3 has just arrived onto the market and the ID.4 is on its way. What do you expect from the first E-SUV from the Volkswagen brand?

Brandstätter: With the ID.4, we are taking e-mobility out of its niche in our three major key regions. The car will be built and sold in Europe, in China and later also in the USA. The ID.4 is thus gradually becoming the world’s electric car. We are scaling our MEB platform and creating the economic basis for the success of our ID. family. At the same time, the ID.4 brings together two important goals of our existing TRANSFORM 2025+ strategy: The e-offensive and the SUV-offensive of the Volkswagen brand – both combined in one vehicle.

What makes you so confident that the ID.4 will be a success?

Ulbrich: SUVs are in high demand by an ever-increasing number of customers. They offer an overview, safety and comfort. In the USA and China, SUVs are the most popular vehicle segment. In Europe and Germany, too, market shares are steadily increasing, with compact models in particular booming. The ID.4 is our first electric SUV – and it clearly targets the volume market. It offers the space, flexibility and all the advantages that customers appreciate in SUVs.

Electric cars are considered clean, SUVs an environmental problem. How do the two fit together?
Brandstätter: 

The ID.4 stands for clean, balance sheet CO₂-free mobility. Like the ID.3, it leaves the Zwickau plant without a CO₂ backpack. This is proven to our customers by a TÜV certificate for each vehicle. With this car the discussion changes – because environmental arguments no longer speak against an SUV. Our position is clear: Volkswagen is committed to the Paris climate goals. We have initiated the complete decarbonization of the brand. By 2050 Volkswagen is to be a zero-emissions company.

How does the balance sheet CO₂-neutral production and delivery of an ID.4 in Zwickau operate?

Ulbrich: Volkswagen has invested around 1.2 billion euros in the Zwickau site and completely restructured its production facilities. We use green electricity there. We operate a highly efficient combined heat and power plant, which in the long-term will be operated with CO₂-neutral gas. We have analyzed around 40,000 processes right down to the raw materials. Buildings and plants are continuously being energy optimized. Green electricity is also used for the energy-intensive battery cell production by our suppliers. Volkswagen compensates unavoidable emissions through climate protection projects. Our customers have it in their hands: if they consistently charge with green energy after purchasing their ID. they drive completely emission-free.

Why is the ID.4 being built on three continents?

Brandstätter: Volkswagen wants to become the world market leader in e-mobility – but that won’t happen by itself. The Volkswagen brand is therefore investing around 11 billion euros by 2024. As a compact SUV, the ID.4 has, in our view, the best prerequisites for being successful in a large scale in all important markets. We therefore expect the Volkswagen brand to produce a total of 1.5 million e-cars per year by 2025. And the ID.4 is likely to account for around a third of this. The ID.4 will thus become the driving force behind our reorientation a hundred thousand times over.

How will the e-offensive continue?

Ulbrich: The ID.4 marks the start of the global rollout of our MEB platform, which is specially tailored to the requirements of electric vehicles. This will enable Volkswagen to expand its competitive advantage through growing economies of scale and synergies in production. By 2029, the entire Group plans to build around 20 million e-vehicles based on the MEB alone. The first models such as the ID.3, ID.4, ŠKODA ENYAQ, Audi Q4 e-tron and Cupra el-Born are now gradually coming onto the market.