Dual-motor AWD VW ID.7 details revealed

20 June 2023

Although it may feel like Volkswagen has just taken the wraps off its flagship ID.7 - it actually has already been two months. Two months is a long time, and even though the ID.7 is far away from going on sale, the company is pushing ahead with new versions joining the lineup.

Courtesy of the Chinese MIIT, today we get a closer look at the yet-to-be-announced dual-motor AWD version of the VW ID.7 - not a GTX, just a regular all-wheel-drive electric sedan. The vehicle uses the same APP550 powertrain with the 150 kW electric motor powering rear wheels, and it adds a front motor with an output of 80 kW - the total comes to 230 kW or 308 hp.

That’s more power than the ID.4 GTX or in fact, any GTX before the ID.7 came to be. Although the battery capacity is not disclosed by the MIIT, various sources point to the larger, 86 kWh unit. From here on though, the image gets confusing a bit. First of all - the Chinese version of ID.7 is called Vizzion, just like the concept vehicle that was introduced not long ago. It’s not an important detail until we notice slight differences in dimensions - the Chinese version is 0.591 inches longer, which could be down to different bumpers, but why is the wheelbase 0.157 inches shorter?

Let’s put that down to clerical error for now, and let’s focus on the powertrain. The APP550 is shared among all new electric vehicles across the VW Group - US version of the VW ID.Buzz comes with the AWD option and so does the Cupra Tavascan. In those vehicles, the powertrain pushes 340 hp (250 kW). While Cupra has always been the hot cousin, the ID.Buzz with that much power should have been called a GTX - but it’s only an AWD Pro version.

The Chinese 308 hp AWD version of the ID.7 would have made the perfect launching platform for a 340 hp GTX version based on the Cupra Tavascan but the ID.7 GTX cannot have the same power as ID.Buzz AWD Pro - what is happening here? Is it possible that local VW marketing and engineering teams mixed up brochures? Or is the upcoming ID.7 GTX going to be even more powerful? Perhaps two 150 kW motors - one on each axle?

VW ID.7 Vizzion is manufactured in China by the FAW-VW joint venture and was supposed to go on sale in 2024, but the MIIT homologation suggests a much earlier release. To muddle the picture even more, VW’s other Chinese joint venture with SAIC will manufacture a slightly different-looking ID.7 called ID.Next.

It’s hard not to agree with Nio’s approach - take its latest Nio ET5 Touring. One powertrain, two battery options, and all the gear you could wish for included. It seems Volkswagen hasn’t learned much from its software disaster, and rather than try and simplify things, it wants to be like BYD - a multitude of brands with a kaleidoscope of models.

Via