Wolfsburg - Volkswagen has released more details about its upcoming Golf-sized electric hatchback that’s due in 2020, and these new pictures, with less camo than previous teaser shots, give us a better idea of how it will look.
The company has also finally given it a name, which is ID.3.
ID doesn’t stand for identity, but rather ‘intelligent design’ and the number 3 signifies its class positioning (leaving space for smaller and larger ID models above and below) as well as its significance in ushering in VW’s third major chapter after Beetle and Golf.
Volkswagen has just started the pre-booking process for customers in select European markets, and we are currently awaiting confirmation on whether the ID.3 will be offered in South Africa.
Although it won’t be cheap, owing to high battery prices, VW is pitching the ID.3 as one of the more accessible electric vehicles with pricing in the upper end of the Golf’s price range.
The company is promising a European starting price of less than 30 000 euro (R480 000). For comparison sake, the Golf starts at 20 000 euro (R320 000) in Germany, while a GTI costs 35 000.
The ID.3 will offer three different battery options with ranges of 330km, 420km and 550km on the WLTP cycle. The comprehensively equipped launch edition called ‘ID.3 1ST’ will come with a 420km battery and a price tag of under 40 000 euro (R640 000).
Production is set to begin in late 2019, with first deliveries commencing in mid-2020, and VW is hoping to produce an annual volume of over 100 000 vehicles.
The ID.3 is just the beginning of a much bigger electric vehicle chapter however, with the company planning to offer more than 20 purely electric vehicles by 2025, with annual volumes projected to exceed the million mark.
“With the ID.3, we will be ushering in the third major chapter of strategic importance in the history of our brand, following the Beetle and the Golf,” says board member Jürgen Stackmann.
“With the ID.3, we are making the electric car fit for mass mobility. Initially, we will electrify Europe with the ID.3 and then other regions with further electric models in the ID. family which are to follow in the near future.”