VW opens preorders for ID.3, its first long-distance electric car

Volkswagen has begun to adopt regulations in Europe for its first long-distance electric car, and also shares some details on how much it will cost and what it will be able to.

Double ID.3, VW will sell three versions of the electric tailgate. The cheapest will start at "under € 30,000" (about $ 33,600) and will travel 330 kilometers (about 200 miles) on a single charge using a 45kWh battery. The car will also be sold in 58kWh and 77kWh configurations, which will get 420 km (261 miles) and 550 km (342 miles) respectively. All models will be capable of 125kW DC fast charging. Regulations require € 1[ads1],000 (about $ 1,118) deposits and production is slated to begin at the end of this year. Deliveries start in Europe by mid-2020.

VW did not announce exact prices for the higher models, or any other specifications (hence light blue and pink camouflage). It must all wait until completely reveal later this year. But it said it would sell a limited "first edition" version of the midrange car for "less than $ 40,000" (about $ 44,700). The company will make 30,000 of these "ID.3 1st" cars, and buyers will receive up to 2,000 kWh of charge for free during the first year.

ID.3 1. itself will come in three flavors. The basic version will include voice control functionality and a navigation system. The "ID.3 1st Plus" edition comes with newer interior lighting and a two-tone exterior. "ID.3 1st Max" will be "packed with innovations," says VW, as an enlarged reality-heads-up display. It will also have a large panoramic glass roof.

All versions of ID.3 will be upgraded via software updates, according to Jürgen Stackmann, sales and marketing manager for Volkswagen passenger cars. But he said at a press conference on Wednesday that these updates will come either through the VW dealer network or over the air, and gave no more clarity on how to manage them.

Stackmann also said that VW will offer full warranty on ID.3's battery for up to eight years, 160,000 km (just under 100,000 miles), or battery depreciation to 70 percent of its original maximum capacity. He added that the car will be equipped with advanced driver-assisted technology, but did not go into detail about pricing.

ID.3 will be the first car built on the Volkswagen group's "modular electric toolbox" or "MEB" – a technological platform for EV that includes battery pack and engine. The Volkswagen Group is planning to use the modular MEB platform to drive a wide range of electric cars for virtually all roof-mounted brands, from VW to Audi to Porsche. Because the batteries fill the platform floor and the electric motor technology can be placed right on the car's axles, the same type of fuel tunnel is not needed in most combustion vehicles. As a result, ID.3 will offer interior space comparable to that found in a mid-sized car in an overall package that is as big as a VW Golf, Stackmann said.

The MEB platform is supposed to be the foundation of the Volkswagen Group's goal of producing 22 million electric vehicles in the next decade. The company believes that the production of the technical platform for electric cars in this scale will reduce the cost enough to bring the price of electric motors more in line with combustion cars. The MEB platform will also help launch a "new chapter" for the Volkswagen group, said Stackmann, one who leaves combustion and diesel engines – including those designed by the automaker to cheat emissions rules as part of the Dieselgate scandal – past.

The potential cost reduction, along with the platform being modular and can be made to fit in different sizes, means that the Volkswagen Group can build a whole around MEB. The company has already flirted with the idea of ​​licensing the technology of other automakers who want to get started on making electric cars, and Stackmann said Wednesday that the German automaker has started talking to some vehicle startup, even though he did not name someone specifically .

Some EV startups are trying to turn the Volkswagen Group into this idea. A startup, Rivian, has already signed up for Ford and Amazon as investors and customers of the modular EV platform, designed to operate the company's own electric truck and SUV. Another, Saudi Arabia-backed Lucid Motors, has also driven the idea of ​​licensing its own technology to other automakers. In fact, Lucid Motors and Volkswagen Group held discussions about a possible investment from the German automaker at some point not long after the Dieselgate scandal broke, according to a former employee familiar with the talks. Even struggling startup Faraday Future designed its thoroughly delayed first car, FF91 SUV, around a modular electric platform.