Newly released teaser images of Volkswagen's upcoming all-electric ID.4 compact SUV reveal an interior that leans on technologies like touchscreens and ambient lighting used to talk to the driver without erasing every lever or knob from the automotive past.
In short: the ID.4 seems to have struck a balance between stark minimalism and a shepherd's pie of toggles, switches, and touchscreens. Could this be the Goldilocks story of the electric vehicle world? Some images cannot answer this question. Fortunately, ID.4 and all the details about it will be revealed at the end of the month.
Until then, these images are the first clues as to what ID.4's interiors will look like and how they might work. The stakes are high for Volkswagen with this latest vehicle. The ID.4 is part of the company's plan to invest 11 billion euros ($ 13 billion) in electric mobility by 2024 as part of its Transform 2025+ strategy.
The ID.4 is the second electric vehicle to use the German automaker's MEB platform, a flexible modular system - actually a matrix of common parts - to produce electric vehicles that VW says make it more efficient and cost-effective. And it is the first vehicle with an ID badge to go to North America. The first vehicle with the label, the ID.3, will only be sold in Europe.
Within ID.4
Volkswagen pointed out in its release Friday that it took advantage of the extra space provided by the electric platform. And this seems to confirm, at least on the basis of these few images.
Looking inside, there are two digital screens. One is in the driver's line of sight and another larger touchscreen is in the center. It is worth noting the height of the center console. It rises above the dashboard, perhaps in an attempt to prevent the driver from having to look at the screen from head to toe. It's hard to tell from the image, but it looks like the bottom of this touchscreen might have some physical switches as well.
There are physical buttons to the right of the steering wheel, which appear to control active driver assistance systems. At the wheel there are also some buttons for the driving assistance system, volume control and to activate voice commands.
Volkswagen has relied on ambient lighting, namely a strip of light under the windshield. The automaker calls it ID. Lightweight, suggesting this feature will appear in other ID brand vehicles. The ID. Light is designed to "support" the driver by signaling when the vehicle's guidance system is active and that the car has been unlocked or locked, for example. The light strip also signals braking requests and incoming phone calls and flashes to advise a lane change.
The automaker has also upgraded the key to a shiny-looking key fob with three buttons for locking and unlocking the doors and trunk. For those less familiar with Volkswagen passenger cars, the keys traditionally have a flip design.
Volkswagen said the ID.4 will also have an option for a panoramic sunroof and that the two future limited edition ID.4 models will be available with seat covers made from animal-free materials. These vegan seat materials are made with a combination of leatherette and ArtVelours, a microfiber material made from about 20 percent recycled PET bottles, according to the company.
The ID.4 will be manufactured and sold in China, Europe and the United States. Production will begin at the Zwickau plant, where VW has invested approximately € 1.2 billion ($ 1.4 billion) to convert it into a facility that will produce only electric vehicles. Within the next year, the Zwickau plant will produce 300,000 electric vehicles per year.
Two plants in China will start production of the ID.4 this year, Thomas Ulbrich, a VW Group board member responsible for electric mobility, said last month. The company's Chattanooga, Tennessee facility will begin production of the ID.4 in 2022.