Volkswagen ID.4 spotted in Malaysia - MEB-based EV with up to 520 km of range, 204 PS; launching here?

It appears the Volkswagen ID.4 will be another electric vehicle (EV) that could go on sale in our market, as an undisguised unit has been spotted in Malaysia by paultan.org reader WK Foong.

First revealed back in September 2020, the ID.4 is the follow-up to the ID.3 and is built on the carmaker’s MEB (modular electric-drive toolkit) platform. The EV has already been named 2021 World Car of the Year, beating out the Honda e and Toyota Yaris.

This particular example appears to the Pro variant based on the fender badge, which features an underfloor-mounted lithium-ion battery with an energy capacity of 77 kWh (82 kWh gross). This is good for a range of 520 km following the WLTP standard, and the EV supports both AC charging at up to 11 kW (Type 2 connection in Europe) as well as DC fast charging at up to 125 kW (CCS connection).

The battery powers a rear electric motor that is rated at 204 PS (201 hp or 150 kW) and 310 Nm of torque, which is good for a 0-100 km/h time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h. Lesser variants with a lower-capacity battery (52 kWh usable, 55 kWh gross) are also available, as is an all-wheel drive option.

In terms of size, the ID.4 measures 4,584 mm long, 1,852 mm wide, 1,636 mm tall, with a wheelbase that spans 2,765 mm. That makes it smaller than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 that is 4,635 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, 1,605 mm tall and has a wheelbase that spans 3,000 mm.

Despite this sighting, it’s likely the ID.4 won’t be launched anytime soon. Back in March this year, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) revealed it had no immediate plans to deploy EVs locally just yet.

“You might be aware that Volkswagen is investing quite heavily in battery electric vehicles (BEV), specifically the ID family. Which is quite obvious, because it’s a worldwide trend. All manufacturers are investing and developing in that direction, and so are countries, so, of course, we’ll also join in that direction,” said VPCM managing director Erik Winter at the time.

“While we are looking into that, we don’t have anything to offer yet, we don’t have anything concrete to tell you. The only thing we can tell you is that we are doing our level best to introduce BEVs in Malaysia,” he added.

As such, this ID.4 unit may have been brought in for evaluation and testing purposes ahead of a probable launch. In Germany, the ID.4 is offered in Pro and GTX guises, the former with a starting price of 46,335 euros (RM208,428). Given the current incentives for EVs that negates import and excise duties (even road tax), the ID.4 Pro, if it’s ever launched here, could be priced around that mark. That is if it arrives before the incentive period for CBU EVs ends on December 31, 2023.

GALLERY: Volkswagen ID.4