This is the first electric Volkswagen vehicle to be made in North America
A more affordable version of the ID.4 will be introduced later in the production run
The first US-made vehicles could be delivered starting in October of this year
Volkswagen began production of the ID.4 electric SUV in its Chattanooga factory in Tennessee earlier today.
This marks the first time an electric vehicle is produced in North America by the Volkswagen Group.
The decision to add American production for the ID.4, which was until now made exclusively in Germany, had been announced at the time of the electric SUVs introduction.
This will help the automaker boost its deliveries in the United States and Canada which had been lacking despite VW having sold over 190,000 units of the ID.4 around the world since its launch last year.
The American factory is expected to reach an output of 7,000 electric vehicles per month by the end of the year and then climb further in 2023. This will be in addition to the other models made there, including the Atlas.
Volkswagen ID.4 in Chattanooga | Photo: Volkswagen
Preparing the plant for the arrival of the ID.4 involved an $800 million investment from Volkswagen into its US operations and it created around 3,000 jobs in the supplier industry.
Volkswagen also plans to add production of the ID.Buzz electric minivan at its Tennessee plant, but it hasn’t said when that would happen yet.
Towards the end of the year, the American assembly lines are set to begin assembling a more affordable version of the ID.4 which will be rear-wheel drive only and powered by 62 kWh battery instead of the current model’s 82 kWh unit.
Since the vehicles made there will be mostly sold in North America and particularly the United States, they will use parts and components made in 11 states in order to avoid taxes on foreign-made vehicles that are based on the provenance of the majority of the parts.
