The Volkswagen ID.4 is now a recipient of the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous journey by a nonsolar battery-electric vehicle in a single country. Behind the wheel was experienced long-distance driver Rainer Zietlow and photographer Derek Collins. The pair initially departed from Volkswagen of America’s headquarters in Herndon, Virginia on a mission to visit over 600 dealers in the ID.4, the brand’s first long-range EV in the U.S. In total, the trip took almost 100 days from start to finish.
Upon their return to Herndon, the pair had put over 35,000 miles and visited 628 dealers in the 48 contiguous states using the Volkswagen ID.4. They relied primarily on Electrify America’s charging network and made a total of 208 stops by the time their journey ended. Currently, Electrify America has the largest open DC charging network with over 650 charging stations that house more than 2,800 individual DC chargers. By 2025, it expects to have more than 1,800 charging stations and over 10,000 individual DC chargers across the U.S. and Canada.
Volkswagen of America’s North American headquarters served as that starting point and finish line for Zietlow and Collins’ trip. When they got back, Guinness World Records was on-site to award them the title for the longest continuous journey by a nonsolar electric vehicle in a single country. The pair beat the previous record by traveling more than double the amount. “It was great being able to share my experiences with the ID.4 with so many different people, including dealership staff, along the way,” said Zietlow. “Breaking the record is not only a testament to the reliability of the ID.4, but also to the actual readiness of the nation’s charging infrastructure.”
The Volkswagen ID.4 is the first of two battery-electric vehicles on the MEB architecture developed specifically for this application. It will be followed by the production version of the ID. Buzz, which will be available in retail, commercial, and ride-hailing configurations depending on the market. Based on the photos posted on the tour’s official website, the vehicle used was a rear-drive, single-motor Volkswagen ID.4. This particular model used appears to be a base model on 19-inch wheels with a staggered tire setup, meaning this one is EPA-rated for 260 miles per charge. An 82-kWh mounted under the passenger compartment powers the electric motor, which is rated at 201 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque. This ID.4 also came equipped with EV-specific Hankook Kinergy AS tires.
Other variants of the ID.4 include the Pro S with the Gradient package, which adds 20-inch alloy wheels. However, that drops the single-motor variants range to 250 miles. There was also a First Edition model offered during the ID.4’s initial launch but its production was in limited quantities. Recently, Volkswagen added an AWD version with a second electric motor mounted on the front axle. This variant makes 295 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque combined and is capable of hitting 60 mph in under 6.0 seconds. However, that comes at the cost of the crossover’s driving range because the ID.4 AWD is rated for 249 miles per charge, 11 miles less than the single-motor version. Getting the Pro S trim drops the EPA range estimate down to 240 miles or 10 miles less than its rear-drive counterpart.
