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Volkswagen Starts ID.4 Production in Chattanooga With SK Innovation Cells Made in Georgia

Volkswagen manufactured the first units of the ID.4 in August 2021. It seemed that the company would have locally-made EVs to deliver in a few months from that point. Curiously, the German carmaker took almost one year to announce the ID.4 mass production in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Deliveries of these American electric SUVs should start in October, which respects the three months of production necessary to have enough units for all dealers.
Volkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, Tennessee 12 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, TennesseeVolkswagen begins the ID.4 production in Chattanooga, Tennessee
This delay may relate not only to the supply chain crisis but also to all the other issues the world has experienced recently. Volkswagen was probably also waiting for SK Innovation to be able to deliver the batteries the ID.4 would need. The Korean company manufactures them in Georgia, which is just part of the logistics effort Volkswagen had to implement to make the American ID.4.

The company said that the electronic components come from Kentucky and North Carolina, while the steel is produced in Alabama and Ohio. Interior parts are made in Indiana and South Carolina. Besides these eight states (including Tennessee and Georgia), Volkswagen said it receives parts from four other locations, making the ID.4 the result of the work performed in 11 states. Canada and Mexico also produce components for the electric SUV.

The suppliers have invested $2.7 billion to make the parts the ID.4 will need in North America, creating 3,000 jobs. That’s almost as many people as Volkswagen already employs in Chattanooga. The German automaker has 4,000 workers there, and it is hiring 1,000 more to make the ID.4. The plan is to produce 7,000 per month by the end of 2022.

At first, Volkswagen will only make rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) units of the ID.4 with the 77-kWh battery pack (82-kWh if you count the buffer). By the end of 2022, it will also offer another option, packing a total of 62 kWh. That’s a new option, much better than the 52-kWh battery pack, with a usable capacity of 45 kWh. Considering a buffer of 5 kWh, the new option may offer 57 kWh. This cheaper ID.4 will come only in RWD guise.

Apart from the ID.4, Volkswagen will also make the ID. Buzz and “a fastback sedan” in Chattanooga in 2024. This sedan will be the production version of the ID. Aero. In 2026, the American plant will be in charge of new electric SUVs. The company wants 55% of its sales in the U.S. to be of electric cars by 2030.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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