Volkswagen still has yet to announce pricing for its ID.4 and ID.5 electric SUVs even as their December 2024 launch creeps ever closer, but it has set expectations.
“You’re going to be pleasantly surprised by this [pricing],” Paul Pottinger, general manager of corporate communications for Volkswagen Group Australia, told CarExpert.
The company had been expected to announce pricing this week, but the local boss has said it’s still being finalised.
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“That is not done yet. I think we will need a few more days and [a short] period to finalise it with headquarters,” said VGA managing director Karsten Seifert.
“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.”
Both executives pointed to the ID. Buzz, for which pricing was announced earlier this year and which sees most of the electric people mover’s range slide in under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold.
It’s unclear just how close Volkswagen will be able to get to the rival Tesla Model Y, which is not only the segment’s best-seller but also Australia’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV).
The similarly sized, Chinese-built SUV opens at $55,900 before on-road costs for the base rear-wheel drive model, while the Long Range AWD is $69,900 before on-roads and the flagship Performance is $82,900 before on-roads.
Volkswagen says a few hundred examples of the new electric SUVs have already been built for Australia and are ready to ship.
The ID.4 is launching here in December initially only as a single-motor rear-wheel drive Pro model, with its sleeker coupe SUV sibling, the ID.5, launching initially only as a dual-motor all-wheel drive GTX.
A Pro version of the ID.5 and a GTX version of the ID.4 will follow in 2025.
Tesla disrupted the segment earlier this year with successive price cuts that saw its Model Y become even more affordable, and subsequently various brands also cut prices of their EVs.
When asked whether Volkswagen would be compelled to cut ID.4 and ID.5 prices should Tesla do this again – or should even more affordable Chinese models enter the market – Mr Seifert left the door open.
“We will act rightly, correctly, and again I think we cannot say that we [will never cut prices] – I think that would be wrong, and that is not correct,” he said.
“I think we act really reasonable in the right way, considering the moment of truth today.”
He said, however, that with pricing for the EVs will “have a stable aspect” and the company will be careful not to make decisions that would damage retained values in the medium and long term.
Mr Seifert acknowledged the delay in getting the ID.4 and ID.5 to Australia, saying, “It takes us sometimes too long to come with new technologies.”
The ID.4 first went on sale in Europe late in 2020, which means it will have been around four years before it finally touches down here.
But while it looks much the same as it did back then, Volkswagen recently gave it a suite of mechanical updates. These included a new, more powerful 210kW/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 be delayed getting to 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 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.
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