The Volkswagen ID.3 all-electric hatchback series had collected over 37,000 pre-orders even before its production began in Zwickau, Germany on November 4, 2019. An anonymous source now claims the shipments might be delayed due to a freshly discovered software issue.
The source holds that two production batches of the ID.3, numbering 10,000 cars in each, will proceed to designated parking areas, where VW will manually upgrade their software and fix the issues. Allegedly, the update cannot be performed over the Internet using the OTA (over-the-air) approach found in other cars from competing manufacturers.
Volkswagen has already released a statement addressing this bit of conjecture, saying that ‘everything goes according to plan,’ and that the first buyers would be getting their ID.3s as soon as summer 2020.
VW prides itself on designing the brand-new automobile platform known as MEB and invites other manufacturers to use it in their own projects. Among other things, it is reported that Ford will be releasing its ‘Mustang Mach-E’ mini-SUV in Europe in 2023 based on the MEB principal tech and components. The company plans to sell around 600,000 units over six years of production.
As for the VW ID.3, the car comes powered by a single electric motor mounted on the rear axle, which is rated at 204 hp (152 kW) and 310 Nm (230 lb-ft) of torque. There are three battery sizes to choose from: 45 kWh (maximum range: 330 km, or 205 miles), 58 kWh (420 km, or 261 mi), and 77 kWh (550 km, or 342 mi). Prices begin from just under €30,000, but the First Edition batch (model name ID.3 1ST) will arrive before all others priced at €40,000.
Volkswagen has been known to experience software-related production issues in the past. In March 2019, the company almost had to postpone the production of the eighth-generation Golf until 2020, but sorted things out in the end. Any potential problems still remaining may mean serious trouble for the automotive giant, which expects to churn out 330,000 Golfs per year from its Zwickau factory alone.