The upcoming Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV has been leaked, as images and technical details for the firm’s upcoming Tesla Model Y rival have been published online by Chinese authorities.
The Chinese market will be one of the ID.4’s most important destinations and the specifications outlined in the leaks relate to versions of the crossover due to be sold there, but the new SUV will join the ID.3 hatchback on sale in Europe next year.
Volkswagen released a handful of very revealing teaser images for the ID.4 back in March, and these regulatory filings remove the camouflage from Volkswagen’s own official glimpse. There’s a clear resemblance to the ID.3, but the overall design of the ID.4 sticks closely to that of the ID.Crozz concept from 2017.
Slim LED headlamps are connected by a lightbar at the front-end, which will become a familiar design treatment used across VW’s range of future ID. models, but the nose is squared off to give the ID.4 a bulkier, more SUV-like look. It doesn’t use a glass tailgate, as on the hatchback, and the rear end is far more conventional - showing similarities with the rest of the brand’s SUVs with its steel boot lid. The full-width LED tail light bar is another touch not found on the ID.4’s smaller sibling. As for the technical data, a top speed of 99mph has been confirmed, while the ID.4 will use an electric motor rated at 150kW - equivalent to 201bhp. Against the tape measure, the ID.4 is 4,592mm long, 1,852mm wide and 1,629mm tall, while the wheelbase sizes up at 2,765mm.
A driving range for the ID.4 has not been confirmed, as different markets use different standards for this. In Europe, however, Volkswagen has previously claimed that a maximum of 311 miles on a single charge will be possible. Officially, Volkswagen has already unveiled a near-production version of the all-electric ID.4 SUV under a light disguise. The German brand also confirmed that it’s new electric model will go on sale this year in Europe, China and the United States, where it will rival the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia e-Niro.The ID. Crozz concept that previewed the ID.4 featured a pair of electric motors that provided a power output of 302bhp and a top speed of 112mph - this could form the basis of the all-wheel-drive ID.4 version.