Volkswagen promised a lower starting price for its ID.4 electric crossover once production got underway in the U.S., and the company has delivered, though with a smaller battery pack.

VW on Thursday announced a starting price of $38,790 for the 2023 ID.4, which reaches dealerships in the fall. That's down from the $41,955 starting price of the current 2022 ID.4, which is sourced from Germany. Both figures include destination.

The 2023 model's starting price is for a new base grade called the ID.4 Standard. It features a smaller 62-kwh battery compared to the 2022 model's ID.4 Pro base grade with its 82-kwh battery.

With a single motor at the rear rated at 201 hp, the ID.4 Standard is estimated to deliver 208 miles of range. The ID.4 Pro with the same motor is rated by the EPA at 275 miles of range. The ID.4 Pro can also be ordered with dual-motor all-wheel drive, which sees peak power rise to 295 hp but range drop to 255 miles.

Note, the ID.4 Pro's starting price has increased for the 2023 model year. It's now priced from $43,790 with the single motor and $52,590 with the dual-motor setup.

2023 Volkswagen ID.4

2023 Volkswagen ID.4

Despite being the base grade, the ID.4 Standard still comes with 19-inch wheels, automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry, and voice activation. The digital instrument cluster is a 5.3-inch unit.

All 2023 ID.4 grades receive subtle styling updates including gloss-black accents on the front fascia, new available wheel patterns, and an illuminated VW logo on some grades. All also come standard with a 12.0-inch infotainment screen (up from the previous standard 10.0-inch screen), and new interior trim materials are featured across the range.

VW's IQ.DRIVE suite of electronic driver-assist features is also standard on every grade, adding handy items like adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and, new for 2023, park assist with memory parking, and cyclist detection.

All ID.4 grades continue to come with Plug and Charge functionality, which allows charging hardware and networks to quickly recognize the vehicle, passing along billing info without having to go through additional cards, fobs, or app approvals. VW also includes 30-minute Electrify America DC fast-charging sessions for three years.

Production of the ID.4 got underway at VW's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July. It means the small electric crossover is now built on three continents, the others being Europe (Germany) and Asia (China). The ID.4 is the most popular EV of all Volkswagen Group brands, with more than 190,000 sold globally since the vehicle's launch in late 2020.