Before we start talking about pre-booking, Mr. Stackmann. Today you also announced the name of the ID., ID.3. What is behind the name?
ID. will be the name of all members of our ID. family. ID. stands for intelligent design, identity and visionary technologies. ID. is not an abbreviation for a specific term, but stands symbolically for the characteristics that these vehicles combine: emission-free, automated driving, intuitive operation and personalized connectivity. The 3 in the ID.3 stands for compact class, this number identifies this segment in the internal project nomenclature of all Volkswagen Group brands. You can also see on the 3: We start from the middle. The number indicates expandability, there is still plenty of room to move upwards, but also downwards. Because we still have a lot in the pipeline. In addition, after Käfer and Golf, the ID.3 is now the third big chapter for Volkswagen.
Pre-booking even before the world premiere – for Volkswagen, this concept is as new as the ID.3 itself. Why that?
For us, the ID.3 is something very special – the first electric car of a new generation, one that will help us to make e-mobility both suitable for daily use and affordable. It’s a new era beginning for Volkswagen. The pre-booking makes this transformation tangible for our customers, as well. This is the start! Anyone who wants to switch to an electric car has the opportunity to do it now – even in the volume segment. We are looking forward to seeing how customers will react.
How much demand are you expecting?
Our markets have reported a lot of interest, which is why we are offering pre-booking in 29 European markets. We have created a special edition just for this: the ID.3 1ST. Great configured and exclusively limited to 30,000 vehicles, we plan to deliver an average of 100,000 ID.3s to customers – perhaps even more.
Pre-bookers have to pay a deposit of 1,000 euros for the booking but can’t use their new car until next year. Why should they do this?
Pre-bookers will be the first to drive and experience the ID.3 themselves, which makes them trailblazers of a new movement. They will receive regular up-to-date information about e-mobility and invitations to exclusive events. In terms of equipment, a variety of features will make the special edition stands out from the later standard vehicle. In addition, pre-bookers will save money when filling up: Volkswagen will be offering them the free charging of up to 2,000 kWh electricity for one year. This offer will be valid at all public charging stations connected to the Volkswagen WeCharge app, as well as to the Europe-wide quick charging network IONITY.