Volkswagen will travel to the upcoming Shanghai auto show to introduce a pair of production-bound electric crossovers called ID.6 X and ID.6 Crozz, respectively. It published a pair of dark images to preview both models on its official Weibo account, which is one of China’s locally-brewed social media sites.
As the name loosely implies, the ID.6 will arrive as a bigger alternative to the ID.4 introduced in 2020. It will share its modular MEB architecture with the 4, but it will offer space for up to seven passengers in three rows of seats. Volkswagen’s design sketches show subtle styling cues that will differentiate the X and the Crozz. While the full design remains shrouded in darkness, patent images published in February 2021 showed what to expect.
Volkswagen previewed the ID.6 with the ID.Roomzz concept that was unveiled in Shanghai in 2019. Predictably, the design has been toned down for production, and the sliding doors were left on the drawing board. The overall silhouette and some of the finer design details (like the curved sheet metal) remain, as does the unusually short front overhang made possible by the electric powertrain. Inside, the 6 will likely share many technology components, including its digital instrument cluster and its infotainment system, with the aforementioned 4.
Documents leaked by Chinese regulators confirmed the ID.6 will be powered by a 201-horsepower electric motor mounted over the rear axle in its standard configuration. We’re assuming dual-motor all-wheel-drive will be available, too. If that’s the case, the system will likely deliver approximately 302 horsepower, as it does in the ID.4. Estimated driving range and charging times will be released closer to the model’s on-sale date.
Volkswagen has already signaled that it developed the ID.6 X and the ID.6 Crozz specifically for the Chinese market. SAIC-Volkswagen will build the former, and FAW-Volkswagen will manufacture the latter. Both are expected to go on sale in China before the end of 2021. However, the Chinese and American car markets are similar in several key ways, and the firm told Automotive News that seeing one of the ID.6s here is conceivable.
When the ID.6 hits the market, it will join the ID.3 and the ID.4 in Volkswagen’s global range of electric vehicles. Several other EVs are on their way, including a city car tentatively called ID.2 and the long-awaited production version of the ID.Buzz concept. While the 2 likely won’t be sold here, the Buzz is scheduled to arrive in 2023.