Volkswagen confirms electric car strategy in Australia with ID.4 and ID.5 set to take the fight to the Tesla Model Y, BYD Atto 3, Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5

Volkswagen’s long-awaited entry to the electric vehicle space in Australia is still planned to kick off in 2023, with the brand informing CarsGuide it is aiming for an SUV-first strategy.

Speaking at the launch of the Tiguan and Golf R, the brand’s director of passenger vehicles Michal Szaniecki, explained that the brand is still on track to make first deliveries of its ID electric cars in 2023.

“Yes, we’re doing everything we can to bring ID to Australia in 2023,” he said. “Due to market conditions, we’re starting with ID.4 and ID.5, and the ID.3 will join later. This is due to the preference of customers toward SUVs in Australia, as you can see with the pre-orders for the R range [which are heavily weighted in favour of the Tiguan].”

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VW Australia has repeatedly held off launching its popular-in-Europe range of electric cars in the Australian market, citing limited demand and incentives in Australia, and overwhelming demand in Europe consuming available production slots.

The ID.4 is a mid-size SUV which dimensionally falls between the T-Roc and Tiguan, while the ID.5 is a coupe-style spin-off. 

The brand’s general manager of corporate communications Paul Pottinger, has explained to CarsGuide in the past that its EVs will be priced to play in the mainstream, going so far as to say they could launch with prices starting in the mid-$50,000 bracket.

This is expected to be for the base version of the ID.4 available overseas, which sports a 45kWh battery pack and 110kW electric motor, good for a 330km WLTP-certified driving range. Meanwhile, the ID.5 is positioned in its home market of Germany much further up the price scale, only available with the longer range 77kWh battery (good for a 450km range) in a higher trim level. 

The brand has previously stated it wants the ID.3 hatch to start from the $40,000 region, although we now know it is planned to arrive later than its SUV siblings. The Golf-sized hatch faces increased competition at the entry-point to the electric field, facing off with new entrants from GWM and BYD, as well as the recently launched Polestar 2.

The commercial division is also expected to take up the ID.Buzz van and its cargo variant in the future, although both are yet to launch internationally.

While VW will be relatively late to the EV party, facing stiff competition in 2023 from an expanded field of rivals, previous comments made to CarsGuide re-iterate its position of confidence. 

“These will be circuit breakers,” Mr Pottinger said in June last year. “Genuinely affordable EVs.”

Stay tuned as we keep an ear to the ground for more details on the locally-delivered ID.4 and ID.5 SUVs.