VW is launching one last test phase of the ID.3 EV by giving a total of 150 vehicles to its employees in order to gather data on the usage and driving behavior of its electric hatchback under real conditions.
The German carmaker has reserved the 150-strong fleet of ID.3s for company employees at the Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden factories. The workers/voluntary test drivers were selected by lucky draw, with the particular examples of the ID.3 not yet equipped with the final software.
VW says that these late test models will be receiving regular updates during this phase before deliveries to customers start in early September.
Read More: First Deliveries Of VW ID.3 To Begin In September With Some Features Disabled
“The comprehensive driving profiles in the run-up to the European market launch of the ID.3 are extremely valuable to us and open up further potential for optimization”, said Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for E-mobility. “Added to this is the very personal feedback from our employees. That means our team in Zwickau is not only building the ID.3 to the highest quality standards, it is also actively assisting in the further development of the technology and electric cars.”
Volkswagen has already announced that the order books for the ID.3 will open in mid-July for the general public; customers who have already placed a pre-order for the limited First Edition model will be given two options: either get delivery of their car in early September with some features disabled or opt for a later delivery date in the fourth quarter of the year with all the features online.
VW has been tormented with various software issues during the development of the ID.3, but the company promises that everything will be sorted out by the end of the year. Customers opting to become the first owners of the ID.3 this September will also become members of the ID.3 1st Mover Club, giving them a direct line of contact to VW. Furthermore, they will not pay any leasing rates for the first three months – if they lease their new vehicle.
The VW ID.3 will be eventually offered with three battery pack sizes; a base 45 kWh unit with a driving range of 205 miles (330 km), a 58 kWh pack with 261 miles (420 km) of driving range, and a range-topping 77 kWh variant with 342 miles (550 km) of range.
As for the First Edition variant, VW will offer 30,000 examples with the 58 kWh pack and three trim levels to choose from.
