Electric utopia not here yet

LUXURY: VW'S I.D.4 IS PERHAPS TOO GOOD WHEN WE REALLY NEED CHEAP AND CHEERFUL EVS

- Brendan Seery

You'd have to say that European and American car makers are looking like they may have made a fatal error in the way they approached electric cars.

As cheap Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) start flooding the European market, there are already signs of panic in the ranks of manufacturers. Lawmakers are proposing tariffs on Chinese imports and at least one car maker, Volkswagen, is in the process of closing a major EV plant in Europe.

Which makes the timing of the arrival of VW's I.D.4 EV for a familiarisation visit to us all the more apt.

Given the background, the question I wanted answered was: why isn't this car selling? Because it has not come near to reaching the predictions the VW marketers, even some overseas journalists, made for it.

And I ended up with an answer which didn't surprise me, given the way the West has approached the whole EV drama. You see, the I.D.4 is a very, very good car. Perhaps too good...