Images leaked into an online forum last week showing undisguised versions of Volkswagen's upcoming ID4, a battery-powered compact crossover due to start production later this year in Germany.
According to a report in Autocar, the leaked images "were contained in VW filings to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The images are part of documents all companies must submit to gain type approval for models in China." The crossover was not set to be shown until later this summer.
The ID4, built on the automaker's global MEB platform for electric vehicles, is to be VW's first worldwide EV on the platform. Ultimately, it will be made in Germany, Tennessee and China.
VW's first mass-market EV, the ID3, will be launched this summer.
A VW spokesman declined to comment on the report but did not dispute the authenticity of the images.