Zwickau-Mosel has been named by Volkswagen as the production location for not only its I.D. electric car but three other EVs. All will use the MEB architecture.
The news is revealed towards the end of a long press release which concerns the group’s finances. The relevant paragraphs read as follows:
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The I.D. family will be a core element of this strategy. It will initially be comprised of four members, and be introduced to the market from 2020 on. The technical concept and design would be decided this year, as Brand Chairman Diess said. “In addition, we are outsourcing key components and determining the production concept.” The I.D. will be the first electric vehicle to be produced at the Zwickau plant. Compared to present-day vehicles, its production will be around 25 percent more efficient and will therefore result in another significant boost in productivity, as Diess announced.
Volkswagen is facing a twofold challenge when it comes to costs: On the one hand, the I.D. should be affordable and cost approximately the same as a comparable diesel. On the other hand, the entire electric fleet should be profitable from the very start.
The production I.D. model will be an electric five-door hatchback. Bodystyles and multiple other details concerning the other three electric Volkswagens mentioned by Herbert Diess and due for release during the 2020s are available in the future vehicle database from QUBE.
Expected to have an NEDC range of up to 500km (311 miles), the I.D. should also be capable of being recharged in 15 minutes. These details were announced by Volkswagen on the eve of the 2016 Geneva motor show. The I.D. concept first appeared at the Paris show six months later, with Volkswagen announcing an on-sale date of 2020 for a vehicle based on this design study. This will be the brand’s first EV to be specifically designed as such.
The 4.1m long concept was shorter than a Golf, but with a wheelbase (2,740mm) almost on a par with today’s European market Passat. Width was 1,800 mm and height 1,530 mm. Front and rear overhangs were minimal. VW also says a fully autonomous model is being developed for release in 2025. A self-driving prototype version of the I.D. had its world premiere at the 2017 Detroit auto show.
The output of the I.D.’s electric motor was claimed to be 125kW/170PS.
The MEB architecture will be the basis of the electric models which Volkswagen will produce in China with its JV partners, SAIC and FAW, in 2020 or 2021. Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen China’s CEO, made this announcement to Chinese journalists at the 2016 Paris motor show, where the I.D. was revealed. He did not give any details of the models to be built by SAIC Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen.
Volkswagen told the media in November 2016 that it would begin building MEB architecture vehicles in the USA from 2021.
