Stress test for everyday suitability: company employees in Saxony begin testing fleet of 150 ID.3
For selected employees at Volkswagen Sachsen, the e-mobility of tomorrow begins on 22nd June: They will be testing the all-electric Volkswagen ID.3 for everyday usability over a period of several weeks – before delivery officially starts in early September. A total of 150 ID.3 built in Zwickau have been reserved for employees at the three plants in Saxony for everyday testing under real conditions to analyze anonymized data on the usage and driving behavior of the ID.3. Over the coming months, this will provide Volkswagen with a steady stream of additional information from hundreds of thousands of kilometers traveled.
“The comprehensive driving profiles in the run-up to the European market launch of the ID.3 are extremely valuable to us and open up further potential for optimization”, Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for E-mobility, said. “Added to this is the very personal feedback from our employees. That means our team in Zwickau is not only building the ID.3 to the highest quality standards, it is also actively assisting in the further development of the technology and electric cars.”
Volkswagen is setting benchmarks with the ID.3: It is the world’s first car to be produced and delivered with a neutral CO2balance. The new electric car offers dynamic driving characteristics, long ranges, and plenty of interior space. With the ID.3, Volkswagen is making e-mobility affordable for millions of people: In terms of the total cost of ownership and depending on the model variant, acquisition and operating expenses for the ID.3 are on the same level as a comparable internal combustion engine model.
Voluntary testers selected by lucky draw
The ID.3 fleet from Saxony consists of 150 vehicles that will be made available to Volkswagen employees at the Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden plants in several waves over the coming weeks. A lucky draw was held to select the voluntary testers. The test vehicles are not yet equipped with the designated final software status and will be receiving regular updates during the test phase.
Comments from employees:
Robert Zergiebel, Zwickau vehicle plant: “I’m really happy to be one of the first to test our new product on the road. I’m sure the ID.3 will be a real eyecatcher.”
Axel Blechschmidt, Chemnitz engine plant: “I’m looking forward to the fleet for company employees because it gives me the opportunity to be one of the first to test the ID.3. I think it’s important to give my feedback to support the further development of this electric car.”
Carolina Pfeiffer, Gläserne Manufaktur Dresden: “I’ve always been a car enthusiast and curious to find out more about new models. As a frequent driver I’m excited to see how the ID.3 measures up in everyday scenarios – from space and range to digital services.”
Investing billions in e-mobility
Delivery of the 30,000 models making up the limited 1st Edition of the ID. 3 commences in September when it will take to the road in most European countries. under its electric offensive, the Volkswagen brand is planning to offer electric vehicles in all of the main vehicle segments by 2022. Volkswagen is seeking to become the world market leader in e-mobility over the coming years and is, therefore, investing €33 billion throughout the Group up to 2024, €11 billion of which is earmarked for the Volkswagen brand alone. For 2025, the Volkswagen brand expects to produce 1.5 million electric cars. The long-term goal – by 2050 – is full decarbonization of the fleet.
As the first Volkswagen site, the Zwickau factory has been converted into Europe’s largest and most efficient electric car plant and plays a groundbreaking role in the transformation of Volkswagen’s global production network. Apart from production at the Zwickau plant, and also in Dresden from 2021, the Components plants in Brunswick, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg also supply parts for the ID.3, delivering key components such as the electric drives or the battery systems. The vehicle plants in Emden and Hanover are also undergoing conversion and are scheduled to begin building electric cars from 2022.
Production of the next model from the ID. family, the first all-electric SUV ID.402, will commence in Zwickau this year. Like the ID.3, the ID.4 will also be produced with a neutral CO2 balance and will, therefore, be handed over to customers with a climate-neutral footprint.
