ID.4

Make
Volkswagen
Segment
SUV

As more electric vehicles arrive on the market, automakers will need to upgrade their existing products to remain competitive. Take the 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 as a perfect example; it arrived last year as a 2021 model but has already been improved with a 20-mile range increase via an over-the-air software update. But even with that range bump, there are still many areas where the ID.4 falls short of newer rivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Volkswagen plans to address those deficiencies.

During a presentation at Paris Electric Car Day, Dr. Silke Bagschik, VW Head of Sales and Marketing, presented a chart that outlines the upcoming quality of life enhancements to the company's MEB platform models. The three key areas for improvement include range, charging power, and acceleration.

Range is arguably the most important factor for consumers when they shop for a new EV. The ID.4 can currently travel 280 miles on a charge in its most efficient configuration, a competitive but not class-leading figure. VW wants to increase the maximum range to 700 km (430 miles) based on the WLTP cycle. On the vastly different EPA cycle, this would still amount to around 384 miles (a roughly 35 percent range increase).

VW lists several MEB-based vehicles in the presentation, including the ID.4 plus the ID.3, ID.5, ID.6, ID.Buzz, and upcoming models like the ID. Life and the Aero B flagship sedan. We doubt a budget-conscious model like the ID. Life will hit this range estimate, but a sleek model like the Aero B could possibly exceed it.

VW also plans to improve the charging speeds for its EVs. The ID.4 can currently charge at only 125 kW, going from 10-80 percent battery in around 38 minutes. VW wants to increase the speed to over 200 kW, which could potentially match the Hyundai Motor Group's 800-volt charging that can replenish the same amount in under 20 minutes. Not only will VW's EVs charge more rapidly, but they will accelerate quicker too. VW claims its EVs will hit 60 mph in around 5.5 seconds with AWD, around two-tenths quicker than they do currently.

No official timeline was given for these improvements, but VW promises a ramp-up for its OTA updates through this year into 2023.