FRANKFURT: Volkswagen said its “first edition” ID.3 electric car will go on sale for under €40,000 next week, with deliveries due from September, as the German carmaker embarks on a mass production push for zero-emission cars.
The launch price makes the ID.3 eligible for up to €9,000 in electric car incentives after Germany earlier this month doubled electric car subsidies for vehicles costing less than €40,000. In March, Volkswagen said the car will go on sale in “summer” while it said on Wednesday deliveries will start on Sept 1, following criticism that the company’s flagship electric cars was facing delays.
The launch of the ID.3 comes as German sales of battery electric cars rose by 20% in May, to 5,578 vehicles according to Germany’s auto industry association VDA. Volkswagen said the ID.3 can be ordered from June 17 onwards. A cheaper base version of the ID.3, costing less than 30,000 euros, is also planned, the carmaker said.