Volkswagen on Tuesday confirmed that manufacturing of customer-bound ID.4 fashions has began at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant.
The event marks the primary electrical mannequin the automaker has produced within the U.S.
Volkswagen says that 190,000 models of the ID.4 electrical crossover SUV have been delivered globally, however solely a small fraction of that has been to the U.S. Up to now, not less than by gross sales numbers, it’s a distinct segment mannequin at lower than 5,000 U.S. deliveries to date this yr.
The Chattanooga plant is because of produce 7,000 ID.4s a month by later this yr, bringing scaled-up manufacturing, and numbers which are extra in line with VW’s much-touted mission of creating electrical vehicles “for thousands and thousands, not simply millionaires,” and positioning it in opposition to fashions that promote within the a whole bunch of hundreds yearly, just like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V.
VW says that Chattanooga is the sixth world website to be producing Volkswagen electrical autos. Goalposts have hardly been taking place at warp pace, nonetheless. Volkswagen broke floor on the plant growth in 2019, and the plant began making validation builds final August.
Volkswagen ID.4 constructed at Chattanooga
Battery cells for the ID.4 will likely be provided by South Korea’s SK innovation—however from the U.S., and a mammoth Georgia plant complicated that additionally provides cells for the F-150 Lightning. The plant was on the heart of an Worldwide Commerce Fee (ITC) dispute over commerce secrets and techniques with rival South Korea provider LG that got here to a head in 2021, simply because the Biden administration had been pushing towards extra U.S.-built EVs with the next stage of home content material. U.S.-built ID.4 variations received’t look a lot if in any respect totally different than world variations, however they’ll include all types of U.S. supply-chain items, together with inside components from Indiana and South Carolina, metal from Alabama and Ohio, and supplies and elements from 11 states in all.
VW says that originally the U.S.-built ID.4 will likely be made with rear- or all-wheel drive with the bigger 82-kwh battery pack, however a rear-wheel drive model with a 62-kwh battery pack will likely be made there beginning later within the yr.
The automaker had beforehand prompt that the beginning value could be about $36,000, however the carmaker made no additional affirmation on the pricing with as we speak’s announcement—that’s nonetheless but to return.
