In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, car sales have plummeted in recent months. However, this is especially true for classic combustion engines. Contrary to the market trend, electric cars are selling better than ever in Germany thanks to an “environmental bonus” of up to 9,000 euros. The local VW dealers have high hopes for the ID.3, which will be available to customers from September.
“Many market observers will be amazed at how quickly we will overtake Tesla with the ID.3,” said Dirk Weddigen von Knapp, head of the German Volkswagen and Audi dealer association, in an interview Merkur.de. The ID.3 was the first model in the new ID. Designed from the ground up as an electric car. With this and various other modern full-electric vehicles, Volkswagen wants to overtake the industry leader Tesla and become the leading provider of e-mobility.
The demand for the ID.3 “far exceeded” expectations, said Weddigen. Instead of the four to six weeks usual for most models, the delivery time is currently around four months. The ID.3 with the currently smallest battery is almost sold out for the current year. So far, VW has served the segment with a version of the Golf that has been converted into an electric car. The e-Golf with a range of up to 300 kilometers according to the expiring NEDC standard is retiring this year and will be replaced by the ID.3 with ranges of 300 to 550 kilometers according to the more realistic WLTP driving cycle.
That the ID.3 and electric cars from other brands are also attracting significantly greater interest in Germany than they used to be, in particular due to the increase the environmental bonus: The purchase premium for vehicles like the ID.3 grew as one of several measures of the federal government’s coronavirus stimulus program from 6,000 to 9,000 euros – the state finances 6,000 euros, the manufacturers contribute 3,000 euros net discount.
The still comparatively low sales of e-cars at VW and Audi this year will not be able to compensate for the lack of sales with gasoline and diesel vehicles: business has been picking up noticeably since July, but the year-on-year sales slump is from the first Half-year, however, “hardly catching up,” said Weddigen. Across the industry, the minus in new vehicle sales in the current year will therefore be “20 to 25 percent”.
–
