For the past decade or so, electric cars have slowly grown to become an important segment of the auto industry. But this is only thanks to the efforts made by newcomers like Tesla, as until now, apart from the likes of Nissan or BMW, no established auto giant has taken this seriously.
That changes this year, as arguably the planet’s largest auto group, Volkswagen, is making its real entrance into the segment. It does so with the ID.3, the first in what is expected to be a large family of electric vehicles, and it plans to do it en force.
The Germans confirmed this week production of the model is on track for the start of deliveries in early September. So far, there have been 30,000 reservations for the 1st Edition of the model, but that number is probably going to grow exponentially next year, as customers who have avoided electric cars so far will probably be drawn to the segment because of the involvement of a carmaker they usually take very seriously.
“The Volkswagen brand’s large-scale electric offensive is literally taking to the road with the ID.3. This car underscores our mission to provide locally emission-free mobility fit for everyday use and affordable for all,” said in a statement Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of the Volkswagen brand.
Volkswagen is accepting pre-orders only for the 1st Edition for now, in two versions. Those who want to get their electric car in September will get ID.3s that are not at their fullest capacity, but will receive “a software update for two outstanding digital functions at the beginning of next year.”
People can also opt to have their ID.3 in the parking lot later in the fourth quarter of the year, getting all of the car’s functions right from the start.
There are three versions of the ID.3 available, depending on powertrain. The entry-level ID.3 uses a 45 kWh battery that should provide a range of up to 330 km (205 miles), then comes the mid-range with 420 km (261 miles), while the top of the range 77 kWh version could go as far as 550 km on a single charge (342 miles).
The Germans confirmed this week production of the model is on track for the start of deliveries in early September. So far, there have been 30,000 reservations for the 1st Edition of the model, but that number is probably going to grow exponentially next year, as customers who have avoided electric cars so far will probably be drawn to the segment because of the involvement of a carmaker they usually take very seriously.
“The Volkswagen brand’s large-scale electric offensive is literally taking to the road with the ID.3. This car underscores our mission to provide locally emission-free mobility fit for everyday use and affordable for all,” said in a statement Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of the Volkswagen brand.
Volkswagen is accepting pre-orders only for the 1st Edition for now, in two versions. Those who want to get their electric car in September will get ID.3s that are not at their fullest capacity, but will receive “a software update for two outstanding digital functions at the beginning of next year.”
People can also opt to have their ID.3 in the parking lot later in the fourth quarter of the year, getting all of the car’s functions right from the start.
There are three versions of the ID.3 available, depending on powertrain. The entry-level ID.3 uses a 45 kWh battery that should provide a range of up to 330 km (205 miles), then comes the mid-range with 420 km (261 miles), while the top of the range 77 kWh version could go as far as 550 km on a single charge (342 miles).