Volkswagen’s upcoming all-electric hatchback, now officially named the ID 3, received more than 10,000 pre-orders in 24 hours. The first production car to launch using the VW Group’s new MEB electric architecture, the Golf-sized ID 3 will be offered with three battery sizes from launch in 2020, giving WLTP-certified ranges of 205, 261 and 342 miles. VW says the entry-level model will cost less than €30,000 (£25,500) in Germany.
While the ID 3 won’t be officially launched until this year’s Frankfurt motor show, the firm opened pre-booking to European customers for a special ID 3 First edition, which will be offered in a limited run of 30,000 units. The special edition features a number of exclusive exterior and interior design details, uses the medium, 261-mile-range battery and will be priced at under €40,000 (£34,000).
Those models also come with 2000kWh of free charging on public networks compatible with a new VW app. The firm estimates that 2000kWh accounts for around 15,000 miles. Customers were able to pre-order an ID 3 First with a fully refundable £750 deposit. VW didn’t say how many of the 30,000 examples were assigned to UK buyers.
VW said it chose to call the new car the ID 3 both because three is the company’s internal nomenclature for the compact A-segment, and because the new model represents the third major chapter in its history, after the Beetle and Golf.
Future ID models will follow the same convention, and VW sales boss Jürgen Stackmann said it allows for both smaller and bigger ID cars in the future. The firm has already shown concepts of the Crozz SUV, Vizzion saloon, Buzz MPV and van and Roomzz large SUV, and is working on a Polo-sized entry-level model.
Stackmann added that, following September’s Frankfurt launch, regular editions of the ID 3 would be freely available to order. He added: “We want to make this car a normal experience as soon as possible. We don’t want to disappoint people by keeping them in queues for a long time.”
Customer deliveries are due to begin in April next year. The European ID 3 models will be built at the company’s Zwickau plant in Germany, and VW is aiming to produce 100,000 in 2020, rising to 110,000 per year after that. Following the launch of the ID 3, VW will follow up by rolling out a string of MEB-based ID models, with the goal to sell 10 million cars by 2025.
Stackmann added that larger ID models would initially follow the 3. But he hinted that the firm would reveal a new ID concept at Frankfurt that will be “clearly compact, because that’s what Volkswagen does”.
Q & A JURGEN STACKMANN, VOLKSWAGEN SALES BOSS
How soon will the entry-level ID 3 be available?
“We’ll start ordering and build for the base car at launch – you won’t have to wait three years to have a base car. We are committed to building them in 2020.”
How fast can you increase production?
“The projected volume is around 100,000 in Europe, just for the ID 3. We seem to have higher demand for that already, so we will seek opportunities to ramp up capacity. The Zwickau plant has a capacity of 300,000 electric models, and we believe we can reach that quite quickly.”
How important is the entry-level car?
“Our mission is clear. We do believe we can make ID 3 comparable on total cost of ownership [to a combustion-engined car] from day one. The monthly cost of owning and running an ID should not be higher than a Golf, and we have very aggressive pricing targets from day one.”
