First VW ID3 deliveries in the UK falsely rumored to be faster than expected

Alan Day Group, a network of three UK dealerships, said that the first 35 all-electric Volkswagen ID3 cars will arrive around March 28 or 29. That’s according to ThisIsMoney.com, a financial website. However, Volkswagen confirmed with Electrek that the schedule for the first deliveries remains summer 2020.

The false reports had contradicted news that deliveries are still months away. A UK-based VW spokesperson told us on Feb. 17 that the “This Is Money” article was incorrect. The spokesperson said:

“ID3 first-edition deliveries in the UK are still on track, as originally planned, for late summer.”

Prices for the ID3 will start with an attractive price of around €30,000 ($32,500) for the debut version with 261 miles of range, according to ThisIsMoney. There will be three battery-size choices in Europe: 48 kWh, 55 kWh, and 62 kWh, providing WLTP-certified ranges of 205, 261, and 342 miles respectively. The ID3 hatch will not be sold in the US.

The financial publication reported that an allocation of 1,500 ID3s is expected in the UK next month. Nick Wells, head of business at the Alan Day Group, said the entire allotment was already pre-sold.

To sell 1,500 from a range that hasn’t even hit the market yet is unprecedented and suggests we are on the cusp of an electric vehicle revolution.

Nowadays people — particularly the under 30s market ­— want to do their bit for the environment and we often hear people saying buying an electric vehicle is the first step in becoming more environmentally aware.

There have been recent reports of Volkswagen having problems with battery supplies and the ID3’s software, both of which were expected to delay the first shipments.

There are similar bottlenecks in battery supply reported by Audi, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz. However, VW made changes to its battery-purchasing plan over those concerns about supply from Samsung, as Bloomberg reported last May.

VW selected LG Chem, Samsung, and SK Innovation Co. as battery suppliers for Europe, and CATL for China. VW later added SK Innovation as a partner for North America as well, starting in 2022.

Electrek’s Take

Volkswagen has a lot riding on the success of the ID3. It’s the first model to be introduced from the carmaker’s ID lineup of electric cars, all built on new dedicated electric platforms. The ID3 will also provide significant help for VW to meet EU CO2-emission targets.

Unfortunately, news about the first ID3 deliveries is all over the map. In September, Volkswagen announced that deliveries wouldn’t until summer 2020, about seven months after production began. At that time, VW told us:

We won’t rush things and will ramp up production step by step. Furthermore, we will launch the ID3 almost simultaneously in 30 European countries. That is only possible with pre-produced volumes, especially since we already have more than 30,000 reservations.

The spokesperson added that VW is still “fully committed to the goal of producing and selling about 100,000 MEB vehicles in 2020.” The ID Crozz, the first of the new wave of VW electric vehicles to come to the United States, will also be built on the MEB platform.

By most accounts, the company is being proactive about battery supplies, which can’t be said for some competitors. However, the update from VW reveals that the company will indeed not “rush things” and ramp up production slowly.