2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Comes With Cheaper Entry-Level Model

• The 2023 VW ID.4 has started to roll off the production line in Tennessee.
• The American-built EVs will reach dealers as early as October.
• A cheaper entry-level model is due later this year too.

The 2023 Volkswagen ID.4s have started to roll off the production line at VW's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The big news is this means the introduction of a cheaper entry-level model. It will be available in rear-wheel-drive form and will carry a 62-kWh battery pack instead of the 77-kWh unit found in every ID.4 that's currently on sale. Volkswagen says this more affordable model will arrive later on this year, and while the automaker hasn't announced a price, we expect to see it come in at around $35,000.

Prior to the Chattanooga plant's production ramp-up for the ID.4, Volkswagen had been importing the two-row EV crossover from Germany. And while German-built ID.4s will still appear on dealer lots, the vast majority of the ID.4s built at the Tennessee plant will be sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Volkswagen says it plans on ramping up production to 7,000 ID.4s per month by the end of this year, with plans to further increase that output throughout 2023. The company expects to sell the vast majority of those here in the U.S.

The American-built 2023 Volkswagen ID.4s are also different from the European ones the company has been importing to the States. Volkswagen says the center console has been changed, and that the battery packs for the new models will come from a new supplier. Up until now, LG Chem has been the main battery supplier for the ID.4. But VW has been working with SK Innovation on battery packs for the ID.4, and it will be the main supplier for the packs going into the U.S.-built cars.

Edmunds says

It doesn't matter where the ID.4 is made — we just hope the less expensive model is as satisfying an experience as the ones we've already driven.