Volkswagen is saying goodbye to the ID.4 the only way that works in this market: with a massive check. The automaker is offering a $12,500 “customer bonus” on remaining 2025 ID.4 electric SUVs at participating US dealerships, Electrek reported. The discount applies to both purchases and leases and runs through November 2, 2026.
The 2026 model year gets a $6,000 bonus of its own. But the real money is on the 2025s — and USA Today notes that inventory is “very limited,” so this is a first-come race through dealer stock lists.
Bigger Than the Tax Credit It Replaced
Here’s the number that reframes the whole deal: $12,500 is $5,000 more than the $7,500 federal EV tax credit the Trump administration eliminated in September. Volkswagen is, in effect, replacing a dead government incentive with an even larger private one — out of its own pocket, to clear metal off lots.
The backstory: VW ended ID.4 production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant in April to retool the lines for gas-powered SUVs, including the three-row Atlas. It was the company’s only EV built in America. VW said at the time it had enough ID.4 supply to meet demand into 2027, when a replacement — expected to be the ID. Tiguan EV — arrives. Apparently, it had more than enough.
The Charging-Port Trap
Before you start calling dealers, here’s the catch the headlines skip. InsideEVs points out a meaningful difference between the two discounted model years: the 2026 ID.4 uses the North American Charging System (NACS) port, while the 2025 models stuck with the older CCS connector.
So the decision is really this: take the extra $6,500 in discount on a 2025 and live with CCS (adapters exist, but it’s friction), or pay more for a 2026 with native Tesla Supercharger access. For a car you’ll own for five-plus years, the port matters. Adapters work, but native NACS is the future of the US charging network, and it’s already here.
What You’re Actually Getting
Discount aside, the ID.4 remains a competent, unexciting electric crossover. Both model years use an 82kWh battery with up to 291 miles of EPA range in rear-wheel-drive form (263 miles for AWD). The base ID.4 Pro RWD starts at $45,095 — knock $12,500 off and you’re looking at an effective price in the low $30,000s for a 291-mile EV, before any dealer games.
That’s squarely in Toyota RAV4 Hybrid territory, which is exactly the point. VW isn’t competing with the Model Y on tech anymore; it’s competing with gas crossovers on price.
Why This Matters
This deal is a weather vane for the whole US EV market in 2026. With the federal credit gone and demand soft, automakers are funding their own incentives — and the discounts are getting bigger than the subsidies they replaced. The ID.4 fire sale won’t last past November 2, but the pattern will: expect more “customer bonuses” as legacy automakers clear first-generation EVs to make room for their second acts.
Meanwhile in Cars & EVs:
