VW goes electric in SA via ID.4
NEWS/ A 190kW Amarok, a T-Roc SUV and a potent Golf TCR also form part of VW’s new-model blitz
Volkswagen has announced that the battery powered ID.4 SUV will be the brand’s first electric vehicle (EV) in SA, to be launched here in 2022.
The ID.4, which is expected to make its world premiere at the Detroit motor show in June, will be based on the ID.Crozz concept unveiled in 2017, and follows the ID.3 hatchback that was launched at 2019’s Frankfurt motor show.
It is too soon to confirm pricing but it is likely that the ID.4 will be positioned against BMW’s i3 electric car, which costs R664,000.
With consumer interest swinging from hatchbacks to SUVs in these higher price brackets, the ID.3 won’t be sold in SA as previously expected, and neither will the batterypowered e-Golf. Instead, they will be available as test-drive demonstrators to build public interest in VW EVs before the ID.4 arrives in 2020.
For the e-Golf pilot project six EVs will be tested by motoring media, selected dealers and VW employees in an effort to gain consumer insights into the varying experiences of driving and living with an EV in SA. The e-Golfs will be used as shuttles and courtesy cars for Volkswagen customers.
The second phase will be expanded to include a fleet of Volkswagen ID.3s from 2021.
As part of a new-model blitz in the next couple of years, VWSA also announced it will soon be launching the T-Roc crossover SUV, a more powerful Amarok bakkie and the eighth generation Golf in 2020 among other vehicles. The just launched new VW Caddy should arrive here in 2021 in panelvan and people-carrying versions.
Speaking at a media event in the Western Cape last week,
SA’s largest passenger-car brand said the T-Roc will be launched here in the third quarter of the year, where it will compete against crossover SUVs such as the Hyundai Kona and Opel Crossland X. The TRoc is positioned between the larger Tiguan and the slightly smaller T-Cross recently launched in SA which has already notched up impressive sales.
New derivatives will be added to top and tail the T-Cross range, in the form of a baseline 70kW 1.0l version, and a rangetopping 110kW 1.5 TSI R-Line.
The much anticipated eighthgeneration Golf is expected in SA in the fourth quarter of the year or in early 2021, as the most dynamic and technologically advanced Golf yet. The local line-up will include the new GTI hot-hatch version which is being unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March.
Before the all-new GTI arrives, the potent TCR version of the existing GTI will be launched here to mark the swansong of the seventhgeneration Golf.
The front-wheel drive hot hatch, named after the international TCR racing series, is powered by a muscled-up version of the GTI’s2l turbo petrol engine, with outputs of 213kW and 370Nm.
The TCR has a claimed 0100km/h sprint of 5.6 seconds and top speed of 250km/h (or optionally 260km/h) and only 300 units — all individually numbered — will be brought in for local Golf fans.
Power in the TCR is fired to the front wheels via a sevenspeed DSG auto gearbox and the car is equipped with a front-axle differential lock and perforated disc brakes.
A more powerful version of the Amarok V6 double cab bakkie wil arrive later in 2020. With its 3.0l TDI engine packing a gutsy 190kW and 580Nm, the V6 will be SA’s most powerful pickup.
SA’s most popular car hasn’t been forgotten. In the third quarter of the year a special edition “Proudly South African” VW Polo Vivo will be launched, with further details to be announced at the time.
Martina Biene, head of the Volkswagen brand in SA, also announced that the We Connect Go app will soon bring modern connectivity to VW vehicles. Available for iOS and Android, it allows smartphones to connect to VWs via Bluetooth using the DataPlug. It will allow customers to locate their cars using their smartphones a benefit in busy parking lots.
Using the app, owners will also be able to view the most important information relating to their vehicle such as the mileage, fuel level, service intervals and warning lamps. In the event of a breakdown or an accident, the assistance call feature of the app can be used to summon help.
The app can also be used to book the vehicle in for a service, and as a digital logbook recording personal and work-related journeys.
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THE WE CONNECT GO APP WILL SOON BRING MODERN CONNECTIVITY TO VW VEHICLES