Volkswagen I.D. Electric Hatch Will Be Available With Three Different Batteries

The upcoming Volkswagen I.D. hatchback will be available with three different battery capacities, Auto Express reports.

The vehicle, currently codenamed Neo, will be the first in Volkswagen’s fleet of I.D. electric vehicles and go on sale before the end of 2019.

“We will have three different ranges of I.D. hatchback, to allow for people with different budgets. The entry-level car will have a WLTP range of 330km (205 miles), and it will also have more limited performance”, VW’s head of product line for E-Mobility, Christian Senger, said.

“If people want a faster car then I don’t want them coming back after three months telling me that it’s fast but that the range is too short. So, if you want a fast car, you’ll need a bigger battery – simple.”

The entry-level model is expected to pack an impressive 49 kWh battery. Senger revealed that the mid-range model will have a range close to 450 km (280 miles). With this in mind, we guess that the range-topping model should have a range of up to 600 km (370 miles). This would give the I.D. hatch a significant range advantage over rivals from Nissan and Tesla.

Beyond the highly-anticipated battery specs, Senger added that the I.D. hatch will be the automaker’s first permanently online vehicle. Consequently, customers will be able to perform simple, over-the-air updates.

The all-electric hatch will be manufactured at VW’s Zwickau factory. The automaker wants to build 1500 units a day initially, and eventually ramp up production until the plant reaches full capacity in 2021.