Volkswagen board of directors member Jürgen Stackmann took to Twitter recently to reveal a few details about the all electric ID hatchback sedan his company says it will bring to market in 2019.
The #VWID offers a #range of up to 550 km for the price of a modern Golf Diesel, and will come on the market as a 100% #emissionneutral #eCar. /JS pic.twitter.com/EUkefmTYGP
— Jürgen Stackmann (@jstackmann) December 6, 2018
According to Express, that 550 kilometers of range is based on the new WLTP testing protocol, which means it should bear some relationship to reality. Converted to miles, that’s about 330. WLTP is better than the wildly inaccurate NEDC testing standard used previously but it is still considered a bit on the optimistic side. Knock it back by about 15% to get an approximation of what the EPA number will be and you arrive at roughly 280 miles of real world driving on one battery charge.
There is no official confirmation from Volkswagen about what size battery will be tucked under the floor of the new ID hatchback sedan — which may or may not be called Neo — but Express says a 111 kWh battery is what industry observers expect.
So how much will this little beauty cost? Stackmann’s tweet offers some insight on that subject. Express says a current edition Golf Diesel sells for between £19,000 and £25,000. Full zoot models with all the bells and whistles and plenty of bumpf can sell for a bit more. Translated to dollars, the new VW would start at around $24,000 and top out at nearly $32,000 fully equipped. Not bad for an electric car with almost 300 miles of range.
Stackmann also hinted the ordering process will be streamlined as much as possible. Demystifying the car buying experience should be very appealing to those who are considering an electric car purchase but don’t have a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering.
In future, #VW #customers will be able to choose between models, ranges, colours and specification packages with far fewer #clicks. We want to think more like customers, and less like engineers! (1/2) /JS pic.twitter.com/3oI8ad9pVa
— Jürgen Stackmann (@jstackmann) December 6, 2018
Tesla fans, of course, will assume that any electric car from Volkswagen will be inferior to the cars made in Fremont and they are probably right. But if VW can offer a fully electric car with 300 +/- miles of range for around $30,000 whereas the average Model 3 costs closer to $50,000, VW is going to get a lot of interest in this car.
Equipping a car with a 111 kWh battery and selling it for around $30,000 seems impossible today — at least if you want to make any profit at all. Is it possible VW will offer a two or more batteries, allowing customers to decide how much range they need and can afford? Patience, grasshopper. All will be revealed in due time.
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