Sacha Askidjian, president of Volkswagen Korea, poses next to the company's first electric vehicle ID.4 at the launch ceremony held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Kim Hyun-bin

By Kim Hyun-bin

Volkswagen Korea launched its first pure electric SUV ID.4 at a launch ceremony held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul, Thursday.

"This beautiful compact luxury SUV features Volkswagen's unique intelligent design, identity and visionary technology. This EV provides a very solid driving feeling and a nice interior experience," Sacha Askidjian, president of Volkswagen Korea said. "This is the role of Volkswagen giving access to premium quality for the widest range of customers."

The ID.4 is Volkswagen's first electric vehicle based on MEB, the company's EV platform.

According to the company, the ID.4 is an accessible premium strategic model that will provide Korean customers with new EV experiences and values ??that only Volkswagen can deliver.

"Korea is the most competitive in the EV sector, and the transition to e-mobility is fast. Volkswagen introduced the ID.4 produced in Germany to Korean customers for the first time in a non-European market," said Dr. Silke Bagschik, who is in charge of Volkswagen's e-mobility product line.

Volkswagen's ID.4 / Courtesy of Volkswagen Korea

The ID.4 is equipped with Volkswagen's state-of-the-art driver assistance system, IQ.Drive, as standard. Emergency Assist has been newly added to notify in an emergency when the driver does not respond for a certain period of time while driving. The vehicle displays a warning sound and a warning message to notify the driver. If the driver's reaction is not detected, the vehicle will stop itself in the lane, apply the hazard lights and parking brake, and sound the horn.

The Volkswagen ID.4 provides ample battery capacity and range. It is equipped with an 82kWh high-voltage battery, and the maximum driving range on a single charge is 405km.

When fast-charging, it can be charged from 5-percent battery capacity to 80 percent in around 36 minutes.

Volkswagen Korea will start delivery of its first batch of ID.4 on September 19 and the price of ID.4 will start at 54.9 million won ($39,400).