Volkswagen has already been making significant efforts to commit to the Paris Climate Agreement, but on the 8th of May, 2019, they will be seriously taking it to a new level as they open the order books for Volkswagen’s first purpose-built electric vehicle, the ID.3.
Of course, Volkswagen has already enjoyed the success of the e-Golf, the fully electric version of their top-selling fossil-fueled family hatchback, but they are yet to build an electric car from the ground up. We’d like to introduce you to the ID.3.
Now, the car isn’t going to be officially unveiled until the Frankfurt Motor Show in Autumn, but it will secure an early production slot, with the delivery of the 1ST Edition vehicles from summer 2020, 6 months in advance of the car being exposed to the world.
What we know so far
We know that the top-performing model of the ID.3 will serve a huge 341 miles of range on one charge, which rivals the range of some considerably more expensive Tesla models. No pricing structure has been officially announced at this point, but we believe the first ID.3s will cost up to £40,000 in the UK.
The ID.3 1ST special edition models come with the mid-sized battery 58 kWh.. The standard model will be available in three variants: with the small battery 45 kWh you can drive up to 205 miles, and with the large battery 77 kWh, up to a 341 mile range is possible (under the WLTP testing).
This is a hatchback that is more expansive in size than the likes of the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf, which are the two electric hatchbacks that the Volkswagen will be directly competing against. While both of those models have done well in terms of sales, we’re confident that the Volkswagen ID.3 will be dominating the Electric-hatchback market this time next year.
In terms of size, the ID.3 is more comparable to the Toyota Prius and Hyundai IONIQ. While both of these cars are saloons, they offer a similar level of size and practicality to what we’re expecting from the Volkswagen. The ID.3 will also outlast the IONIQ by some distance on a single charge, as the Hyundai has a maximum range of 174 miles.
The Toyota Prius isn’t quite comparable with the Volkswagen, as it is not currently available as a solely electric car. It can be purchased as a particularly frugal hybrid, but the ID.3 signifies Volkswagens efforts to achieve zero emissions, not just reduced emissions. These efforts don’t only just come into effect when people buy their cars, though. The production of the ID.3 will involve a reduction of 1 million tons of CO2 per year as production methods evolve.
Thomas Ulbrich, a board member for Volkswagen’s e-mobility, said: “As the world’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen is assuming responsibility: The new ID.3 will be the group’s first climate-neutrally produced electric car. To ensure that it remains emission free during its life cycle, we are working on many different ways to use green power. Truly sustainable mobility is feasible if we all want it and we all work on it.”
So, it looks like the electric car market is going to get even more competitive and hopefully more accessible, which can only be a good thing for the environment and the consumer. If you fancy placing a pre-booking deposit of £750 to reserve your exclusive ID.3 1ST Special Edition, we would highly recommend you don't hang around in securing yourself a build slot. This promises to be a particularly exciting car and, in all honesty, we cannot wait to see what else Volkswagen has got in store for us.
Find out more above for pre-booking your deposit