VW Names Its North American Electric SUV ID.4, Brings Prototype To Frankfurt

The ID.3 production compact EV is undoubtedly the star of VW’s Frankfurt Motor Show lineup but there’s a second ID-badged vehicle on display.

It wears hypnotic camouflage and is enclosed in a fogged glass box so that no one can touch it. As it turns out, it’s a pre-production concept previewing the next member of the ID family to be released into the real world: the ID.4 compact crossover.

The vehicle was previously known as the ID Crozz, the name under which VW has presented it so far in not one but two concept guises. The transition to production is almost ready and with it the crossover will gain a new name: ID.4.

VW ID.3 won’t be sold in the U.S. but the ID.4 will be the closest thing to it

It’s a significant model particularly for the U.S. as it will be the first of at least three ID models to be sold there starting next spring. That’s because the VW ID.3 hatch will not make it to North America. While VW has not confirmed the ID.4 name, a person familiar with the matter disclosed it to Autonews.

Also read: VW To Commence ID.3 Production At Zwickau In November

Compared to the coupe-like ID Crozz studies that preceded it, the ID.4 adopts a traditional three-box design with a vertical hatchback for more practicality. It looks very similar to a test prototype we spotted recently.

U.S. buyers will be able to buy one next spring but the first deliveries are estimated to begin in late 2020. The ID.4, for which pricing remains unknown, is likely to be imported from Europe for at least the first two years. However, later on the electric crossover is expected to become the first VW EV built in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

No specs are available yet but the ID.4 should share the MEB modular electric platform and EV drivetrain with the ID.3. The rear-wheel drive compact hatchback offers three battery options (45-, 58-, and 77-kwh) and corresponding driving ranges of 205 miles (330 km), 261 miles (420 km), and 342 miles (550 km). The base model is powered by a rear-mounted 147 hp (149 PS) electric motor while the other two get a 201 hp (204 PS) motor.