- Volkswagen rolled out its ID.GTI concept in Germany this previous weekend.
- The electric car has not but been confirmed as coming to the U.S., however VW Group of America CEO Pablo Di Si was decidedly bullish on the thought.
- One drawback to iron out first: it is unlikely the ID.GTI will get all-wheel drive, and clients in the States could discover that a sticking level.
When we advised you about the Volkswagen ID.GTI idea on Sunday, September 3, contemporary from its unveiling at the Munich IAA auto present in Germany, the official line was that there have been no confirmed plans to convey it to the U.S.
But now Car and Driver has spoken with Pablo Di Si, Volkswagen Group of America CEO, and might report that he’s pushing onerous to convey the electrical sizzling hatch stateside.
“Everybody needs the automotive in the U.S.,” Di Si advised journalists at the IAA. “It’s a idea automotive, however we’re working very carefully with the group in Germany when it comes to the design and the specs . . . I feel it may very well be a nice automotive for the U.S. We simply must ensure that the contact and really feel goes to be what the American shopper needs, and also you obtain that by working with engineering from the starting of the challenge.”
There appear few causes that such a plan could not come to fruition. The manufacturing ID.GTI, which is confirmed for Europe, will sit on the MEB Entry platform, a front-wheel-drive model of Volkswagen’s current MEB EV platform. The ID.4, which sits on the common rear-/all-wheel-drive MEB structure, is already being produced at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
U.S. Needs an Entry-Level EV
Di Si confirms that Volkswagen is dedicated to launching a cheaper EV in the U.S. under the ID.4, a position the manufacturing GTI would appear completely suited for. “We are the individuals’s model, so we’d like an entry-level electrical automobile, no ifs, no buts,” Di Si mentioned. “Whether it’ll be the ID.2 or the GTI—no matter you need to name it—we have to have one. I like the GTI notably as a result of it brings the heritage of the model in a smaller bundle, and a hopefully smaller worth.”
Which might be taken as a ringing endorsement from the boss, particularly as Di Si added that his private opinion is that the primary ID.2, which is able to sit under the ID.3 in Europe, shall be too small and primary for U.S. consumers.
One potential sticking level, based on Volkswagen insiders, is the ID.GTI’s front-drive format, with the key query being whether or not U.S. consumers would count on their junior efficiency EV to come back with all-wheel drive. That’s one thing that may be very onerous to ship given the idea’s dinky dimensions and tight packaging.
But we’re undoubtedly hoping the points get ironed out on this one. The U.S. has lengthy been one among the largest markets for Volkswagen’s GTI variants, and we actually do not need to be denied this one.
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Senior European Correspondent
Our man on the different facet of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain however stories from throughout Europe, typically past. He has beforehand held employees roles on UK titles together with CAR, Autocar and evo, however his personal automotive tastes have a tendency in direction of the Germanic, proudly owning each a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.
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