Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 EVs coming to Australia, ID.3 and ID Buzz to follow

The Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 SUV twins will spearhead the German brand’s EV charge in Australia from 2023.

VW has finally confirmed its first EV models for this market, having previously criticised the former Australian Government for its lack of electric-vehicle strategy.

The ID.4 and ID.5 will join the other VW Group mainstream EVs so far confirmed for this market – the Cupra Born hatchback due in late 2022 and the Skoda Enyaq wagon and four-door coupe also arriving in 2023.

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“Australia will this decade become a key market for the ID. Family,” said VW Australia spokesman Daniel DeGasperi. “Volkswagen Group Australia expects 20 per cent of sales to be EVs by 2024.

“Our current priority is to bring the start of production forward on ID.4 and ID.5 so they reach Australia next year. Along with the ID.Buzz we are excited about an expanded ID. family globally.”

The ID.4 and ID.5 are essentially the same vehicle merely distinguished by body styles, with the latter adopting a coupe-style sloping roofline.

They sit on VW’s MEB battery-electric platform and in other markets are offered with different battery sizes and outputs.

There’s a 52kWh entry-level model with a choice of 109kW or 125kW electric motors, the mid-range version features a 77kWh battery with 150kW and a WLTP-rated driving range of almost 540 kilometres. Both are rear-wheel-drive with a single motor.

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An all-wheel-drive, dual-motor GTX sits at the top of the ID.4 and ID.5 ranges, delivering 220kW and a driving range of more than 500km from its 80kWh battery and twin motor set-up.

The ID.4 and ID.5 are around 4.6 metres long, making them both slightly longer than VW’s conventional mid-sized SUV, the Tiguan.

The ID.4 will give VW Australia a crucial rival to the Tesla Model Y, as well as the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

VW’s ID.Buzz, a 21st-century ‘Kombi’, makes a natural choice for Australia. The production version of a vehicle that debuted as a concept more than a decade ago was revealed in March, powered by the same 77kWh battery and 150kW rear electric motor arrangement as found in other ID models.

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VW’s most affordable ID model, the ID.3, is also expected to reach Australia. The first of the ID vehicles was launched back in 2019, and it’s likely VW Australia will wait for a facelifted version that would be due sometime in 2023 based on typical vehicle lifecycles.

In the UK, the ID.3 is priced from the equivalent of AU$63,500, the ID.4 from $66,000, and the ID.5 – featuring a 77kWh battery as a minimum – costs $88,000 when converted from British pounds.

It’s less clear whether there would be a place for the production version of the ID.Aero concept that was unveiled overnight as the flagship-in-waiting for the ID range. Expected to be called the ID.6 in Europe, the model will be a natural rival for the Tesla Model 3.