The VW Century ID 3 that was presented in Berlin will become Volkswagens electric mass model. It looks like a 'magic ball', the new Volkswagen with its pink and purple lines, but that fits in with the modern strategy of car manufacturers to gradually reveal their new models. Here is a line, there is a backlight and with every ‘unveiling’, valuable media attention follows.
The new ID 3 must become one of the most important cars in the history of Volkswagen. At the presentation in Berlin, it was standing next to the Beetle and the Golf. That shows it is considered a milestone. The ID 3 (the number shows that in the future there will also be a smaller ID 1 and probably a larger 5) is Volkswagen's first fully-fledged e-car, newly developed for electric driving from the base plate.
'Dieselgate' has now cost the company almost 30 billion euros
The car also has to relieve the group of its black diesel history, the scandal that broke out in 2015, when it turned out that Volkswagen had provided millions of cars with prohibited software to make them look cleaner than they really were. 'Dieselgate' has now cost the company almost 30 billion euros and the damage counter is still not standing still.
Volkswagen wants to change course with the newcomer; By developing a completely new electric mass model. Volkswagen believes it can save on costs, making electric driving accessible to millions.
This does not yet apply to the first variant. The 30,000 copies that are the first to roll off the line have a reach of 400 kilometers and receive a larger battery that takes the car 400 kilometers far and costs a little less than 40,000 euros. The cheaper version with a lower action radius of around 300 kilometers will cost around 30,000 euros. Customers have to wait until the end of next year for this version.
Since last week, customers can reserve a copy by transferring a thousand euros to Volkswagen. Whoever does that can be the first to drive an ID - a trick the Germans have copied from Tesla.
Within a day, ten thousand had already been reserved, claims VW. The Netherlands is leading the way, along with Norway. The fact that the first thirty thousand copies are only available in one variant must help the manufacturer to resolve any problems in the start-up phase quickly. Once production runs, other versions of the band will run.
Soon, 1,500 electric cars would then have to be produced every day at the plant in Zwickau (Germany), which is currently being converted for a billion euros. A huge operation in which around eight thousand employees are retrained from the production of cars with a fuel engine to e-cars.
Electric Golf will also remain for sale
The existing electric Golf will also remain for sale for the time being. But the new Golf, which will be released later this year, will probably not be a fully electric version. This is reserved for the ID family, which will be expanded in the coming years with SUVs and countless other models, also for the other brands of the Volkswagen group.
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