First unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show 2025, the Volkswagen ID.ERA will soon be launched as the company’s first-ever extended range electric vehicle (EREV). It boasts a range of over 1,000 km, but the bad news is that it’s developed specifically for China, and will help kick off an unprecedented product offensive in the Middle Kingdom for the brand.
Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, Ralf Brandstätter, recently shared a heavily camouflaged production version of the ID.ERA on his LinkedIn account, suggesting the SUV will make its market debut soon. In his post, Brandstätter revealed the sheer scale of their upcoming offensive, stating: “We will introduce more than 20 new NEV models in 2026 alone,” culminating in over 30 new models by the end of 2027.
The Volkswagen ID.ERA will be a full-size SUV with three-row seating, and it is the maiden EREV model from Volkswagen. This EREV setup consists of an internal-combustion generator and a high-voltage battery, enabling a range of 300 km in pure EV mode.
Paired with the generator, which provides an additional range of 700 km in a tank of fuel, Volkswagen states the ID.ERA concept has a total range of more than 1,000 km.
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Volkswagen has not revealed images of the ID.ERA’s interior, but the company states it will be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) systems to support ‘highly automated driving’, possibly achieving Level 2++ ADAS capability as early as 2026.
This would enable semi-autonomous driving features, including overtaking, turning manoeuvres, and independently merging into traffic – though still with the driver’s supervision.
The Volkswagen ID.ERA will be joined by two other models, which are ID.EVO and ID.AURA. The company says the ID.EVO is the first full-size SUV model in the pure-electric Volkswagen ID.UNYX family, and is fitted out with what the company calls high-performance ‘zonal electronic architecture’ that facilitates a range of digital services, and supports over-the-air (OTA) updates at short intervals.
The third model, the ID.AURA, will be based on the Compact Main Platform (CMP), featuring the same zonal electronic architecture. It comes equipped with AI-based computing capacity, enabling highly autonomous driving.
Volkswagen says the ID.AURA will be a notchback model occupying the budget A-segment. It features a UX concept similar to a smartphone built into the vehicle’s centre console, while an AI-based humanoid assistant enables seamless control of vehicle functions and infotainment.
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