Volkswagen’s Tesla Killer, ID.3 Electric, Gets 10,000 Preorders In 24 Hours

The Volkswagen Group proudly announced it had received more than 10,000 preorders for its ID.3 electric hatchback within 24 hours of its launch in Berlin on Wednesday.

Jürgen Stackmann, VW head of sales and marketing for the passenger cars division, tweeted, “Thank you to our customers for the strong interest in our #VWID3 1st Edition #prebooking! More than 10,000 registrations were received throughout #Europe during the first 24 hours! #NowYouCan #emobility.”

While impressive, this total still falls way short of the record set in March 2016 by the Tesla Model 3 when 276,000 preorders for this luxury executive sedan were received in just two days. Each of these preorders came with a deposit of $1,000. Tesla reported more than 325,000 preorders by April of that year.

The ID.3 is the third major evolution in VW’s storied history dating back to the early 20th century. It follows the iconic VW Beetle, which was first produced in 1938; and the VW Golf compact car introduced in 1974. More than 22.5 million Beetles were produced until 2003.

ID.3 will officially launch this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. VW said customers that prebooked can officially order their cars after the Frankfurt show. It said orders become binding in April 2020. Those that change their minds will be able to get a full refund before this month.

Stackmann said the ID.3 has more internal space than a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) motor vehicle.

"From the outside, the ID.3 will be as large as a Golf,” he said. “In the interior, it will be as spacious as a medium-sized car."

ID.3 will be produced 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 come 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.

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. This version will 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.

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.