Volkswagen Is Killing The ID.4 In the U.S. Its Plant Will Make More Gas SUVs Instead

• Volkswagen is ending production of the ID.4 in the U.S. this month, choosing to prioritize the gas-powered Atlas at its sole U.S. plant.
• The VW ID. Buzz is “skipping” the 2026 model year, too, meaning VW will soon have no new EVs arriving at lots.
• A replacement for the ID.4 is on the way, hopefully with Rivian-derived tech and a better design. 

The Volkswagen ID.4 is dead in America, the company confirmed Thursday. Production of the electric crossover will end within the next few weeks as the Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant ramps up production of the gas-powered 2027 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. 

“The EV market continues to challenge the industry, requiring measured decisions throughout the last few years to navigate this unpredictability,” the company said in a statement. “As part of the focus toward higher‑volume products that meet market demand, Volkswagen will no longer assemble the ID.4 in Chattanooga starting mid-April 2026.” 

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This doesn’t strike me as particularly surprising. The Chattanooga plant is Volkswagen’s only assembly plant in North America, a brutal fact in the era of high tariffs and trade wars. The company was heavily impacted by tariffs last year, with profits falling 53% and sales in the U.S. down 13%. The company is in cost-cutting mode worldwide and needs to maximize profit. Unfortunately, in today’s market, pushing five-year-old compact electric crossovers isn’t the best way to do that.  

Larger gas SUVs remain much more profitable, explaining VW’s choice to prioritize the 2027 Atlas over the ID.4. The Atlas was already built in Chattanooga, but will now be able to take advantage of the plant’s full capacity. Volkswagen says the plant was building over 175,000 vehicles per year in 2023. Combined, the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport sell over 100,000 units. 

Last year, the company sold 22,373 ID.4s, up 31.4% over 2024, when the electric crossover was affected by a stop-sale order related to a door handle design issue. That paused deliveries for the majority of the year, and wasn’t the first major issue with the ID.4, as it also suffered from software and drive motor issues early on.  

It was never my favorite EV, with a cost-cut interior and the world’s worst window switches. But it was a handsome and nice-to-drive option in a crucial segment, and debuted at a time of EV optimism back in 2021. Globally, it has been a success, with hundreds of thousands of units sold. Yet it’s struggled more in the U.S., with sales collapsing after the loss of the tax credit last fall. As a result, in Q4 of 2025, Volkswagen sold just 248 of them. The good news from that slow pace of sales: ID.4s will still be on dealer lots for a while. And the story isn’t over yet. 

“Model Year 2026 ID.4 will remain available to customers in the U.S. through current inventory, which we expect will support customer demand into 2027,” the statement said. “A future version of ID.4 is currently planned for the North American market; details will be shared at a later date.” 

That leaves the U.S. Volkswagen EV lineup in a curious place. The VW ID. Buzz is “skipping” the 2026 model year to allegedly return in 2027, with VW claiming there are enough leftover 2025 models to bridge the gap. And the current ID.4 is dead forever here, with VW not planning to bring an imported version over, yet sales will persist through the year. 

It’s an awkward position. But hopefully it’s setting the stage for Volkswagen’s second act of its EV story, with more physical buttons, cooler designs, and Rivian-derived software. I said last year that the company finally seems to be on the right track. Though killing the ID.4 is certainly a disappointment, it hasn’t changed my mind. We need a new generation of cheaper, more compelling EVs. For that era to arrive, a lot of the relics on sale today will have to die.

Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.