Volkswagen has finally locked in when it’s launching its long-awaited electric SUV range in Australia.
The Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 electric vehicles (EVs) are set to launch locally in March 2025, almost a year after deliveries were meant to begin, following numerous delays and setbacks.
Having initially been slated to arrive in the second quarter of 2024 (April to June), their arrival was pushed back in May to the fourth quarter (October to December), before the carmaker said in August they’d launch before Christmas.
Speaking to CarExpert, Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) product and PR communications manager Daniel DeGasperi said customers may get them “a bit before we do the [media] launch”.
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“It’s not a delayed until March thing. We want to end the year with ID. Buzz, which is the correct thing to do, and we strategically want to do ID.4 and ID.5 before Everything Electric (EV show in March 2025), and [Cupra] Tavascan shortly after that.”
Volkswagen still hasn’t confirmed pricing for the ID.4 and ID. 5 just yet, though it has previously said it will be “pleasantly surprising”.
The brand was originally set to announce the pricing of the ID.4 and ID.5 back in September.
“That is not done yet. I think we will need a few more days and [a short] period to finalise it with headquarters,” VGA managing director Karsten Seifert said in September.
“But I’m quite convinced that we will be as reasonably priced with a very welcome price for the Australian market also for the ID.4.
“We have to find the right price spot, which is not all the time let’s say the most easiest subject for our group. We will get better in that.”
The Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV was originally revealed in 2020, while the related ID.5 electric ‘coupe’ SUV was unveiled in 2021.
The electric SUV pair were meant to be the first Volkswagen-branded EVs offered in Australia, though following the delays of their launch, this title now goes to the ID. Buzz electric people mover and van range.
There will be both regular Pro and high-performance versions of the ID.4 and ID.5 available.
While the SUVs look much the same as they did when they were first revealed, Volkswagen recently gave them a suite of mechanical updates.
These included a new, more powerful 210kW and 545Nm electric motor in rear-wheel drive models, which also saw increases in range, as well as new charging and thermal management.
Inside, the electric SUVs also gained a larger 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen with illuminated touch sliders underneath.
The ID.4 and ID.5 are far from the only vehicles in their segment to experience significant gaps between launching overseas and arriving in Australia.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E went on sale in North America in late 2020 but didn’t come here until late 2023, while the Toyota bZ4X went on sale there in 2022 and took until this year to arrive locally.
The Nissan Ariya still isn’t due in Australia until the second half of 2025, around three years after it went on sale overseas.
While Volkswagen said the EV market is maturing, with more vehicles coming and eroding the dominance Tesla enjoys, Mr Seifert noted back in September the market is “not getting smoother [but] getting tougher year by year” and that “the Chinese are coming in”.
The ID.4 and ID.5 will not only have to contend with the aforementioned rivals and others like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, but also a glut of Chinese entrants.
That includes the upcoming BYD Sealion 7, Leapmotor C10, Xpeng G6, Zeekr 7X, and likely a mid-sized electric SUV from MG.
Between January and November 2024, new EV sales in Australia have increased by almost nine per cent, well down on the triple-digit figures the year prior.
MORE: Everything Volkswagen ID.4 • ID.5
