Volkswagen Launches Tesla Killer ID.3 Electric Car, Now Available For Preorder

The Volkswagen Group can really be considered a “Tesla killer” on account of its immense resources and technologies, unlike smaller rivals in the U.S. and China that have laid claim to this title on the strength of a single electric vehicle (EV).

Volkswagen yesterday became the stuff of Tesla’s nightmares by announcing it’s started taking pre-orders in Europe for the long-awaited ID.3, its first long-range EV.

ID.3 is an electric car based on the MEB platform (Modularer Elektrobaukasten) developed by Volkswagen for a range of EVs manufactured by its subsidiaries. ID.3 is the first EV series from VW purpose built from the ground up as an EV.

VW revealed the ID.3 will be assembled at its Zwickau factory. It expects to produce 330,000 ID.3s per year, a number greater than all the EVs produced by Tesla in 2017 and 2018. ID.3 will be one of five new VW models based on the MEB platform.

ID.3 will come in three versions. The basic version will include voice control functionality and a navigation system. The “ID.3 1st Plus” edition, which was introduced in Berlin on Wednesday, will come with fancier interior lighting and a two-tone exterior.

The “ID.3 1st Max” will be “packed with innovations” like an augmented reality heads-up display. It will also have a large panoramic glass roof.

VW said all versions of the ID.3 will be upgradeable via software updates like Tesla. Updates will come either through the VW dealer network or over-the-air, said Jürgen Stackmann, VW head of sales and marketing for the passenger cars division.

As for price, the basic ID.3 version will start at “under €30,000” ($33,600) and will travel 330 km (about 200 miles) on a single charge using a 45kWh battery. It will also have 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.

Pre-orders require a €1,000 ($1,118) deposit. Production is slated to begin at the end of 2019 with deliveries start in Europe by the summer of 2020.

Stackmann also said VW will offer a full warranty on the ID.3’s battery for up to eight years, 160,000 km (about 100,000 miles), or the depreciation of the battery to 70 percent of its original maximum capacity. He said ID.3 will be equipped with advanced driver assistance technology.

The MEB platform will be the foundation for the Volkswagen Group’s target of making 22 million EV in the next decade, a number Tesla will be hard pressed to match.