Volkswagen starts series production of its first fully electric SUV in Germany
Source: Xinhua | 2020-08-21
Volkswagen started series production of the brand's first all-electric SUV, the ID.4, in the plant in the eastern German city of Zwickau, the German carmaker announced on Thursday.
"Following the ID.3, this is already the second model based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB)," said Ralf Brandstaetter, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Volkswagen brand. MEB is a modular car platform designed purely for electric vehicles from Volkswagen.
The plant in Zwickau would play a "key role in the system changeover to e-mobility" and Volkswagen was converting the plant to electro-mobility with investments of around 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion U.S. dollars).
Conversions in the Zwickau plant are scheduled to be completed this year, according to Volkswagen. In 2021, the "first full production year as an EV factory," around 300,000 electric vehicles would be produced based on MEB.
The ID.4 would be "built and sold" in the future in Europe, in China and later also in the United States, added Brandstaetter. The world premiere of the ID.4 is scheduled at the end of September, according to Volkswagen.
"Preparations to roll out the electric SUV at international level are also in full swing," the carmaker noted. Pre-production of the ID.4 had already started at the Anting plant in Shanghai in East China, while the Chattanooga site in the United States is scheduled to start production in 2022.
To become the world market leader in electromobility, the Volkswagen Group would invest around 33 billion euros until 2024, 11 billion euros of which would be invested in the Volkswagen brand alone, according to the car manufacturer. For 2025, the Volkswagen brand expects to produce 1.5 million electric cars. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
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