Volkswagen will reveal the fifth and largest member
of its all-electric ID model family on April 16 at the Shanghai Auto Show. Expected to debut in concept
form, the flagship SUV called ID Lounge previews a production model that will
rival Tesla’s Model X and other similar models when it launches early next
decade.
The VW ID Lounge will be a three-row, seven-seat
electric SUV that will spearhead the brand’s ID family of long-range EVs. So
far, VW has confirmed for production the Golf-sized ID hatchback arriving early
next year, ID Crozz and ID Crozz Coupe SUVs (2021), ID Buzz minivan and ID Buzz
Cargo van (2022), and ID Vizzion sedan (2022).
Why the ID Lounge when VW already has two electric
SUVs in the pipeline? According to VW brand sales boss Jürgen Stackmann, the
two ID Crozz SUVs won’t be enough to satisfy surging demand for SUVs and
crossovers. The production version of the three-row, seven-seat SUV is expected
to first arrive in China and the United States early next decade, with European
sales following in 2024. VW expects China to be a key market for its electric
SUVs. By 2025, Volkswagen expects the overall market for EVs in China to grow
to more than 4.8 million units from 1.3 million in 2020.
Earlier this month, Volkswagen Group announced plans
to launch 70 all-electric vehicles by 2028 and build 22 million cars based on
various EV platforms including the VW brand’s MEB and the PPE platform Audi and
Porsche are jointly developing.
