Volkswagen is no longer building the ID.4 with a heat pump as the semiconductor shortage continues to wreak havoc on some automakers.
Last week we reported that Audi had stopped including the heat pump in the Q4 e-tron, telling customers that their new car would instead be coming with just a resistive heater. In an email to customers Audi said that the semiconductor shortage was to blame.
After we published that story one of our readers emailed us to let us know that they were told the same thing about their pending ID.4 delivery. Drive Tesla then reached out to Volkswagen and a spokesperson confirmed that as of late last month no ID.4 SUVs were being built with heat pumps.
The spokesperson told us that just like Audi, they also don’t know when the shortage will end and when they will be able to add heat pump back to their production lines in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
However, unlike Audi customers, VW customers will not be getting a credit or refund as the heat pump is an optional feature in the ID.4, so any customer who ordered one will simply not have it included and their final invoice will be adjusted accordingly.
VW didn’t comment on how the lack of a heat pump will impact the range of the ID.4, however based on previous comments owners will notice it. You might recall that the heat pump was a standard feature on the ID.4 when it launched in Canada, with VW Canada telling us at the time that it “will significantly improve the performance of the vehicle’s battery in the most adverse (ie. Canadian) of conditions.”
VW’s heat pump hasn’t always been a standard for efficiency however. When the ID.4 (and ID.3) were launched in Europe, the Germany automaker ended up having to compensate more than 56,000 owners because they weren’t performing up to their advertised standards.
Do you have an ID.4 with a heat pump on order? Will you accept delivery if it doesn’t have a heat pump? Let us know in the comments below.
