VW goes deeper on electric cars with new ID.5

Betting that more than half of its sales will come from a new type of vehicle, the manufacturer commits further with an attractive fresh option.

VW’s new ID 5 electric car might make it to Australia.

Volkswagen’s family of electric cars continues to grow, with a coupe-like SUV set to hit European showrooms next year.

The new VW ID.5 takes inspiration from the likes of BMW’s X6, adding a swooping roofline to the boxier VW ID.4 electric family car.

The new VW ID 5 electric car brings a touch of style to the boxier ID 4.

Like the Golf-sized ID.3 and Tiguan-rivalling ID.4, the new machine rides on Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix platform.

That means it’s a dedicated EV sharing almost nothing with conventional petrol models.

Two-wheel-drive models power the rear wheels, while dual-motor versions have all-wheel-drive.

VW says 70 per cent of European sales will be electric cars by 2030.

The rear-drive variants are set to offer a choice of 128kW or 150kW power.

All-wheel-drive “GTX” variants get 220kW, enough to reach 100km/h in a Golf GTI-rivalling 6.3 seconds.

All three versions share the same 77kWh battery bringing around 500 kilometres of range.

Like the latest VW Golf, the new ID 5 has a digital dash and touch-sensitive controls.

VW says the ID range is vital to its success, as it plans for 70 per cent of European sales to come from battery-only models by 2030. In the US and China, more than half of sales will come from electric cars in that time.

VW plans to introduce ID models in Australia, but the brand is prioritising production for markets that have strict carbon emissions targets for carmakers.

The Cupra Born is on its way to Australia.

The first VW ID-based model is likely to be the Spanish spin-off Cupra Born, due to arrive locally at the end of 2022.