VW starts its EV push with the ID3 hatchback

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LED lighting has replaced chrome accents on the ID3 for added visual appeal, and to amplify the brand's new EV logo on the front fascia.

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen touted its ID3 as an electric car for the masses.

The battery-powered compact hatchback will "secure the future of mobility for millions of people," VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said at the unveiling of the Golf-sized EV on Monday on the eve of the opening of the Frankfurt auto show.

Diess said  the future of driving rests with electric cars such as the ID3 because they do not have the negative image of gasoline and diesel cars.

The ID3 is the first of a wave of EVs from the VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat brands that will  share VW Group's global modular electric platform, known as MEB.

VW said the ID3 would start at a price under 30,000 euros, or about $33,000, in Germany, "comparable to that of typical compact vehicles following the deduction of the anticipated government subsidies."

The base-level car has a 45 KWh battery with a range of up 330 km (205 miles) as measured by Europe's WLTP test regime. Above that a mid-level 58 kWh has a range of 418 km (260 miles) in a version called Pro while the Pro S has a high-level 77 kWh battery has range of 549 km (341 miles).

VW said it has taken more than 30,000 deposits for launch editions of the car, called the 1st, which has the mid-range 58 kWh battery and will start at under 40,000 euros.

Production starts at VW's factory in Zwickau, Germany in November and deliveries will begin in spring next year.

The entry version of the ID3 1st includes a navigation system, heated steering wheel, armrests at the front, and 18-inch wheels. The 1st Plus version adds a rear-view camera system, adaptive cruise control and keyless locking and starting. A top end version, called ID3 1st Max, comes with an augmented reality head-up display and 20-inch wheels.

With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the Golf, Europe's top-selling car, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor. Vehicles on the MEB platform will either be rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

Volkswagen, still recovering from widespread diesel-emissions violations that surfaced in the U.S. 2015, calls the ID3 its first "CO2-neutral" vehicle, and says it will guarantee the hatchback's battery packs for eight years.

Europe will be the main market for the ID3. It will not be sold in the United States. Instead a five-passenger crossover due in late 2020 called the ID Crozz will lead VW's EV push in the U.S.

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REUTERS

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

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The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

id3_4.jpg

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

id3_7.jpg

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

id3_6.jpg

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

id3_5.jpg

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

id3_1.jpg
REUTERS

The Volkswagen ID3 is the first of what is expected to become scores of EVs that will share the German mass-market brand's global modular electric platform, known as MEB. With exterior dimensions and styling similar to the VW Golf, the ID3 will have a rear-mounted drive motor and come with one of three batteries: a base-level 45 kilowatt-hour battery with a range of up to 205 miles, a midlevel 58 kWh battery with a range of about 260 miles or a high-level 77 kWh battery with an expected range of up to 341 miles, all calculated under European testing standards.

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From a design standpoint, the ID3 introduces a new design language for the brand's BEV offerings, using LED lighting to both accent and animate its battery-electric vehicles lines. LED lighting is used to replace chrome accents for added visual appeal, and to amplify the brand's new BEV logo on the front fascia.

Inside the cabin, the ID3 has a flat floor that VW claims makes it feel larger than its compact size. The ID3 "offered the maneuverability of a small car with the interior space of a mid-range vehicle," Silke Bagschik, head of sales and marketing for the ID family, said.

A centrally-positioned 10-inch touchscreen is augmented by a LED strip that gives drivers visual signals during navigation and can prompt drivers for emergency braking. The optional augmented reality heads-up display in the ID3 is also intended to keep the driver's eyes on the road, while natural voice control will allow passengers to control certain vehicle functions without using buttons or switches.

All of the car's systems are expected to appear in later MEB-based vehicles.

The ID3 will also employ a number of safety features expected to be introduced on future vehicles, including: a windscreen-mounted camera that can identify road signs, emergency assist braking and pedestrian monitoring, lane keeping assist, and a parking assist system that promises to reduce or prevent parking mishaps.

Since it began a global push into EVs, top VW executives have pledged that the automaker's huge scale would keep them affordable.

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