Intent to launch in 2023 confirmed, but no price, spec or timing detail.

CONFIRMATION that the conjoined ID.4 and ID.5 crossovers and the ID.Buzz, plus its ID.Cargo commercial variant, will comprise Volkswagen’s electric vehicle push here next year also reinforces there’s no room for the battery-pure family’s first-born, the ID.3 hatchback.

 In answering questions relating to a release sent out that finally exactly identifies which models will be sold by the New Zealand franchise network under the ‘destination/way to zero’ mantle, VW’s New Zealand distributor has stopped short of saying the ID.3 will never feature.

 However, it says that the hatchback, the first ID brought into production more than two years ago and also the most popular of the ID models being availed as ‘grey’ imports – brought in from overseas by sellers, mainly independent car yards, with no obvious official commercial involvement with VW – is not in the immediate picture.

 “ID.3 is not currently on the plans for NZ.”

 VW NZ has yet to stipulate specification, launch timings and pricing for any of the product it has chosen to represent, but information sent out today cements that they will all be here in 2023.

 That consignment includes electrified cars; plug-in hybrid vehicles. It has again reaffirmed intent to bring in Golf, Tiguan, Touareg R and Passat in PHEV form. These are scheduled to arrive in the country in 2023 – a year later than first signalled.

 The EV plan, meantime, suggests the NZ schedule might well time neatly with release plans for other VW Group cars on the MEB electric platform – these being the Audi Q4 and Skoda Enyaq iV, single assessment examples of which are already in distributor hands, and the Cupra Born.

 The ID.4 and ID.5 have been tipped as high volume achievers, likely to place (as might the Skoda and Cupra) as direct foils to three products winning high attention from New Zealand EV buyers -  Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

 The difference between the ID.4 and ID.5 is body type, with the first resembling more a traditional sports utility whereas the other has a coupe-inspired sloping roofline.

 All the VW Group cars offer globally in both single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive configurations.

 Internationally, the ID.4 and ID.5 range starts with a 109kW/220Nm rear-drive model that uses a 55kWh battery pack to enable a range of 346km, and peaks with the all-wheel drive ID.4 GTX performance variant with 220kW, a 82kWh battery and an official (claimed) range of around 482km.

 VW NZ general manager of new cars Greg Leet has previously discounted the GTX as a 2023 car.

 VW NZ’s release timeline is broadly aligned with an announcement for the same vehicles’ availability in Australia, which is surely no coincidence.

 Our neighbour has expressed interest in ID.3 as well, but reports say this version is unlikely to be seen until 2024, after it undergoes a mid-cycle refresh.

 That might still leave the door open for NZ, though past comment about ID.3 suggests a lukewarm interest here. Those NZ owners who have bought private import IDs have been assured of distributor support, but only to a point. VW NZ is unlikely to holds parts for models it does not directly distribute, as example, and software updates are expected to be country-specific. Imported as-new IDs have come from the United Kingdom.

 VW NZ has been battling for ID supply for almost two years, but various factors have always stymied.

 One has been our market’s small size – even if the cars are successful, the national consignment was always going to be modest, by international standards.

 However, with NZ and Australia working to a common plan, as often occurs with new car selections, very much bolsters the volume so lends much more strength.

 Australia’s political climate until recently has been was distasteful to VW.

 In 2021, the company’s boss there said IDs might not reach Australia “for years” because of what he described as a Third World stance toward electric by then Coalition government.

 Now, of course, Australia has a Labour Government at the helm that is as EV-friendly as NZ’s administration and, apparently, that’s been enough to unlock supply.

 In released ID information today, VW said it has its assessment example of the ID.4 on show at a mall in Auckland, in a display space owned by Giltrap Group. It’ll be there until July 11.

 As for the rest of NZ? A VW NZ spokeswoman said this will not be the only national opportunity for interested customers. At some point after the display at Westfield Mall, the car and potentially some other models will go on national tour.

 “A roadshow is certainly on the cards, VW is just waiting to confirm what pre-production models aside from the ID.4 will be possible to secure for this. This could likely be before the end of this year.”

 The brand says having the two ID cars and Buzz/Cargo van marks the start of a new era of electric mobility and rounds out the most significant and versatile “green vehicle” line up in this country.

 “It’s our social responsibility to protect the environment and as New Zealanders, it feels even more important we embrace and all work together towards a ‘Way to Zero’,” Leet says.

 “Volkswagen is eager to make a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change and, at the same time, become the most coveted brand for sustainable mobility.”

 Volkswagen’s Way to Zero goes beyond vehicle electrification to include decarbonising supply chains and production, investment in renewable energy, and the development of a battery recycling programme.

 “As well as our longer term goal of carbon neutrality, we have also committed to reducing vehicle emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The launch of the new ID family and plug-in hybrid vehicles that will transform our fleet is the first step in that journey, and the beginning of a new electric era for Volkswagen New Zealand.”