Skip to main content

Volkswagen CEO says ID.3 will be 40% cheaper to make than the e-Golf

Herbert Diess, Volkswagen‘s chief executive, addressed investors Monday to announce that the company’s new ID.3 electric vehicle will be 40 percent cheaper to build than the e-Golf. Concentrating on using the battery platform to also handle structural rigidity accounts for much of the savings. The electric Golf was a conversion of an internal combustion engine version of the Golf that wasn’t optimized for an electric powertrain.

“If you focus on an electric platform, all in all, it accounts for a 40% reduction against the predecessor electric Golf,” Diess said, “most of it from cells and the battery system.”

Related Videos

Reducing production costs is key to Volkswagen’s plan to shift production from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles without investors having to worry about reductions in the company’s profits.

Production on the ID.3 started at VW’s Zwickau plant on November 4, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in attendance to mark the beginning of the automaker’s effort to sell 22 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2028. The Zwickau plant was converted from a combustion engine plant to strictly electric vehicle production. Diess says that dedicating the plant solely to EV production saves another 5 to 10% on costs.

All these savings, along with the refitting of manufacturing plants, is aimed at getting an ID.3 into your garage for about $33,000. Eventually, VW is looking to be able to offer an all-electric car for $22.500.

The ID.3 will soon be available in Europe, with a crossover SUV version coming to the United States not too long after. The electric motor in the ID.3 produces an equivalent of 200 horsepower through a rear-wheel drive system, with all-wheel drive coming soon. The body design will help give it a range of up to 341 miles on a single charge, depending on the power options you choose.

Another milestone in the VW ramp-up of electric mobility is the fall 2020 opening of the Dresden Gläserne Manufaktur, which VW says will become a Center of Future Mobility where innovative technologies are developed and tested in collaboration with industry partners and startups. The VW Group plans to launch up to 75 all-electric models and some 60 hybrid vehicles into the marketplace through 2029.

Editors' Recommendations

How to use a Tesla Supercharger: a complete guide
tesla starts opening its supercharger network to other evs

Sure, Tesla makes great cars, but one of the biggest advantages to owning a Tesla is being able to tap into its massive charging network. That means that not only can Tesla owners use all of the third-party charging stations out there, but they can also use the tens of thousands of Tesla Superchargers out there.

Of course, you might not want to use non-Tesla chargers if you don't have to, given the fact that they're so easy to use. Here's how to use a Tesla Supercharger.
How to use a Tesla Supercharger
Superchargers are among the easiest chargers to use. Here's how to do so.

Read more
Beware of this EV with pitiful charging speed — and others like it
apple maps to get new ev feature eliminate range anxiety close up of the hybrid car electric charger station with power suppl

With a proper setup, owning and driving an electric car can be a pretty seamless experience. If you have a charger at home, you'll never really have to worry about charging -- simply plug in at home, and your car will always have enough juice to get you through the day.

But that convenience can fall apart when you go on road trips. Whether it's just a short jaunt out of town, or a cross-country adventure, you'll suddenly have to keep track of nearby charging stations, and allot enough time to charge up your car. With a car like the Kia EV6 and Ioniq 5, that can be a relatively quick stop -- especially if you find a 350-kilowatt charging station that can charge your car in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes.

Read more
Watch Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 EV perform a crab walk
Hyundai's Ioniq 5 EV performing a crab walk.

Hyundai is making exciting progress with its e-Corner technology that lets a driver “crab walk” out of a tight spot. Other maneuvers such as zero turns, pivot turns, and diagonal driving are also possible.

Hyundai has been working on the technology for at least five years, and previously showed it off in purpose-built vehicles that aren’t on the market.

Read more