VW has officially started production of the ID.3, its first electric car on the new MEB platform, and it marks the start of the conversion of its massive Zwickau factory from gasoline-powered car production to EV production.
The German automaker unveiled the ID.3, a small electric hatchback, in September earlier this year.
It is offered in different variants, with between 300 and 500 km of range starting at “under $33,000 (€30,000).”
Volkswagen ID.3 electric car (Image: Volkswagen.com)
Today, VW announced the official start of production of the ID.3 at its Zwickau plant in Germany.
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said at the ceremony for the production start:
The ID.3 will make an important contribution to the breakthrough of e-mobility. It makes clean individual mobility accessible to millions of people and is a milestone for our company on the road to becoming climate-neutral by 2050.
Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for E-Mobility, added:
The ID.3 is a high-tech car from a high-tech factory. With some 1,700 robots, driverless transport systems and fully automated manufacturing processes, Zwickau gives a contemporary insight into the shape of forward-looking high-volume production of EVs. Ultimately, though, it is the people who build the cars who are the key to success: Our team in Saxony mastered the two-year conversion phase culminating in today’s SOP with much know-how and dedication. An outstanding team achievement!
Before the conversion, the Zwickau factory was producing several variants of the VW Golf, as well as bodies for the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.
Read more: Electrek