Today, Volkswagen’s pure electric coupe-styled SUV, ID., is officially launched. It is priced from 209,900 to 249,900 RMB and includes three models.
In 2024, it’s no longer peculiar to manufacture a pure electric SUV. However, A-Class, coupe-shaped, pure-electric SUVs are fewer in number. The popularity of coupe SUVs can be attributed to their youthful, sporty exterior and their practicality which is comparable to a standard SUV. This aligns well with the auto demands of the younger generation.
Therefore, an attractive exterior design is a testament to a manufacturer’s design capabilities. The ID., with its precise targeting, is a prime example of this. It caters exactly to the pure electric coupe SUV market. After redesign, this Volkswagen model stands out distinctively amongst other Volkswagen vehicles.
Simultaneously, the ID. is based on the mature MEB pure electric platform, equipped with ID.S 5.0 vehicle system, and a standard L2+ level assisted driving… making this car a practical benchmark amongst others of the same price range.
In that case, can the golden logo branded ID. hold a leading position in the A-Class electric SUV market? Can it usher in a new era for Volkswagen’s transition to renewable energy?
Coupe SUV, Premium Volkswagen
Presently, the main theme of the A-Class, pure electric SUV market is ‘surge.’ Especially in the case of Chinese brands, transition to electric vehicles is rapid and has allowed for exponential growth in sales. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is also setting new sales records amongst joint venture brands.
Throughout 2023, Volkswagen delivered over 75,700 units of ID.3 and over 61,700 units of ID.4. Within the first six months of 2024, a total of 44,447 orders were received for the ID.3 alone, representing a 300% YoY growth. It’s safe to say that sales of the Volkswagen ID. family have been steadily improving.
Owing to the growing Chinese market demand, the ID. was officially introduced.
The ID. features a brand new Coupe SUV design with dimensions of 4663mm x 1860mm x 1610mm, and a wheelbase of 2766mm.
In terms of the exterior, the ID. employs Volkswagen’s latest design language, particularly catering to the younger generation in its detailing.
The ID.’s head has a plunging posture. The ‘low centre, high sides’ design in the through light enhances the dynamism of the ID.’s face. Coupled with the muscular front hood, it instantly emits a sporty vibe.
On the vehicle’s sides, the sloping A-pillar, complemented by the Fastback Coupe silhouette, offers an overall graceful stance. The ID. also features a space-floating roof. This design draws inspiration from the ID. R concept hypercar. The glossy black A-pillar seamlessly joins the windshield to the side glass, providing a sunshade effect reminiscent of a race car.
The maximum 21-inch low wind-resistance armored wheel hub raises the visual effect of ID. Unique to a higher level. Indeed, big feet are handsome.
What makes ID. Unique more handsome are two details – firstly, the golden Volkswagen logo and golden accents throughout the car; secondly, the IQ. Light smart matrix LED headlights.
ID. Unique is the first model to use a golden Volkswagen logo, and the front, rear, and the center of all four wheel hubs are golden. The interior lighting and body trim also feature golden accents – a unique presence among Volkswagen models globally.
Speaking of lights, the IQ. Light smart matrix-style LED headlights are sharp and radiant, with high recognizability – a feature that has already received a lot of praise from users of other ID. family models.
If you observe the A-class pure electric SUVs on the Chinese market, you’ll find that most models use the “can’t go wrong” SUV styling. Volkswagen is no different. In 2021, ID.4 X and ID.4 CROZZ were released, adopting the standard SUV styling. Indeed, such styling is more widely accepted, and many of our colleagues in the garage also chose models from the ID. family at the time.
However, cars are highly personalized products, and everyone has their own car selection logics and personality. When you feel that the models in the ID. family are already everywhere, and buying another one really can’t highlight your uniqueness, perhaps the personalized, sporty ID. Unique coupe SUV could be a better choice within the same class.
Not a Single Intelligent Technology Missing
Once inside the ID. Unique, it gives a familiar feeling, which is the interior design language of the ID. family.
A 5.3-inch instrument panel, the largest 15-inch 2K main-control large screen in the ID. family, and a 70-inch AR HUD all give this car a good technological attribute. The built-in system also differs from the old models, as ID. Unique is equipped with ID.S 5.0 vehicle machine and UNYX.OS operating system.
Comparing with the already launched ID.3 and ID.4 models, the main control screen of ID. Unique is obviously larger, similar to the ID.7 model. The larger screen gives a completely different first impression. But what about the usage experience?Previously, we had a brief hands-on experience with this car machine system, and its AI partner made a deep impression. By customizing the AI partner’s appearance through facial tweaking, dressing up, and action customization, it enables more realistic interactions with the system. The car machine can even clone human voices, making the AI more human-like.
Volkswagen has also partnered with iFLYTEK to develop the new generation cognitive intelligence language model. Enhanced AI technology and natural language understanding make “Hello Volkswagen” more than just a helper to open the window and play music. It can also answer more complex questions.
In addition to this, the car’s app store includes third-party apps for download, as well as over 50 car applets such as Youku Video and local life services. Without needing to download, these can be opened directly, covering all car usage scenarios.
The above points precisely represent the upgrades of the ID.4 model in its intelligent cockpit. After upgrading to UNYX.OS, the car machine’s functionality is noticeably richer.
In terms of car-smartphone connectivity, the ID. series supports wireless CarPlay and CarLife, and can be wiredly connected to Huawei HiCar. In other words, the ID. series supports almost all mainstream smartphone car-smartphone connectivity in the market. Navigation and music—these two core functions become very straightforward.
If you just want a simple car machine system and don’t seek a geeky car machine experience, or you are already a deep user of CarPlay, HiCar and other systems, then I believe the car machine system of the ID. series will definitely meet your daily usage.
Another aspect of intelligence is smart driving. The full ID. series comes with L2+ level driving assistance systems and active safety features as standard. Officially, these are described as the Travel Assist 3.0 full journey driving assistance system and the Emergency Assist 3.0 emergency assistance system.
The Travel Assist 3.0 full journey driving assistance system features L2+ level driving assistance capabilities. Once activated, the vehicle controls the distance to the car ahead and controls the direction of the vehicle along the current lane line. After the driver turns on the turn signal, the vehicle also judges the surrounding environment to assist changing lanes.
The Emergency Assist 3.0 emergency assistance system is a comprehensive driving assistance feature with 3 lateral active safety, 5 forward active safety, and 1 rearward active safety functions.
Looking at the current A-class pure electric SUV market, most models have an entry-level version with a low retail price, which means less configuration. Active safety and driving assistance features require a significant amount of hardware investment, which generally makes them the first to be cut in configuration.
It’s not hard to notice that the entry-level configurations of A-class pure electric SUVs for driving assistance usually consist of ACC, or cruise control, which is already outdated.Unlike others, ID. comes standard with the Travel Assist 3.0 full-journey driving assistance system and Emergency Assist 3.0 emergency assistance system.
In addition, there is an optional automatic parking feature, which, through 12 ultrasonic radars and Top View 360° panoramic cameras, ID. enables functionalities such as reversing into a garage and lateral parking.
The implementation of these intelligent functionalities wouldn’t be possible without Volkswagen’s pure electric platform MEB. It is the MEB platform that makes ID. outstanding in battery, driving range, and driving control.
ID. comes equipped with a battery pack of 82.4 kWh, the rear-wheel-drive version can achieve a driving range of 621 km under CLTC conditions. At the same time, there are dual-motor four-wheel-drive versions, with a combined output power of 250 kW, a maximum torque of 472 N·m, and the fastest acceleration from zero to a hundred in just 5.6 seconds.
In the domestic market of pure electric SUVs, such performance and driving range are indeed supreme.
ID. features Volkswagen’s latest high-performance chassis system, including the DCC adaptive chassis adjustment system and the MEB two-stage flexible shock-absorption system. This system dynamically adjusts the shock absorber damping based on real-time road condition information from sensors, whether it’s comfortable or sporty mode, it elevates the driving experience.
Furthermore, ID. has a 50:50 front-rear weight distribution, along with 235mm front and 255mm rear asymmetric mixed tyre widths, all contributing to the overall handling of the vehicle.
The ID. models already on the market have one remarkably massive advantage — an incredibly small turning radius, which is evident upon the first drive. Especially in the scenario of U-turning at a narrow junction, where other models might need to shuffle forward and backward, the ID. models can complete it in “one go”. Thanks to the advantages of the MEB platform, ID. inherits the merit of a small turning radius, with the smallest turning radius of 4.7 meters.
For the rear-wheel-drive models, the inner and outer steering angles of the front wheels are 48.83° and 40.17° respectively. Achieving flexible steering by increasing the tyre swing angle is a configuration rarely seen in models of this price range.
Based on the MEB pure electric platform, ID. showcases excellence in batteries, driving range, control, intelligence, and other aspects. Placed in 2024, it still remains a product with excellent capabilities among A-class pure electric SUVs.
Grounded in Anhui, Permeate China
For Volkswagen, the significance of ID. is particularly profound.
This year coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Volkswagen Group’s entry into the Chinese market, with approximately 50 million Chinese vehicle owners driving brands under the Volkswagen Group. Clearly, the Chinese market is of great importance to the Volkswagen Group. Over the past 40 years, the Volkswagen Group has become one of the largest car companies in the Chinese market in terms of sales volume.Meanwhile, intelligence and electrification are driving the rapid evolution of the auto industry. Volkswagen Group’s latest journey down this connective path resides in Hefei, Anhui.
Occupying an area of 510,000 square meters with a planned annual capacity of 350,000 vehicles, this is the Volkswagen Anhui MEB plant. The first model of ID. With the public series rolled off the assembly line here, and another is set to join the production line by the end of this year.
Clearly, Volkswagen Group holds high aspirations for the Anhui MEB plant, pouring in considerable resources to adapt to the swift revolution of intelligent interconnected electric vehicles in the Chinese market.
In fact, it’s not just a whole vehicle plant. Volkswagen Group has invested approximately 1 billion euros to establish Volkswagen Automobile (China) Technology Co., Ltd. (VCTC) in Anhui, focusing on the research, innovation, and procurement of intelligent interconnected electric vehicles.
In addition to the Volkswagen brand layout, Volkswagen Group also has another crucial project in Anhui – the collaboration with Xpeng automobiles has landed in Anhui. On February 29 of this year, Volkswagen announced that it had signed a technical cooperation agreement for platform and software development with Xpeng. Through VCTC, innovative technologies were applied in the design and engineering phase of vehicles, and the product development cycle shortened by over 30% via joint procurement. By 2026, two models developed through the cooperation between Volkswagen and Xpeng will be released, marking another key milestone in Volkswagen’s transition in the intelligent interconnected electric vehicle market in China.
In Hefei, Anhui, Volkswagen Group also set up digital sales services and parts company. The Parts Ltd initially has an annual capacity for 150,000 to 180,000 high-voltage battery systems which will be used in purely electric models produced by the Volkswagen Anhui MEB plant. Volkswagen’s stakeholding battery supplier, Guoxuan High-tech, also resides in Hefei, with a plan for a battery factory with an overall capacity of 20GWh.
In Conclusion
By 2024, auto companies feel that the Chinese auto market is incredibly dynamic. For consumers, there is an abundance of more cost-effective models. Not only are independent brands appearing, but many joint-venture brands are also launching stronger models, maintaining their market shares with lower prices.
With such advancements, the entire new energy vehicle market is becoming increasingly lively.
Among the many joint-venture brands in the Chinese market, Volkswagen is one of the most proactive in the transition to new energy sources. With the continuous expansion of the Volkswagen model layout, meeting the needs of different users with more models, like ID. With the Public and others, its transition to intelligent interconnected electric vehicles will continue to accelerate.
This article is a translation by AI of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.