China could play a key role for Europe’s car giant in overcoming tax issues in Thailand.
It looks like a smarter version of the Golf…
This is the all-new ID3, Volkswagen’s first battery-electric vehicle that was earlier previewed as a concept car.
Developed to rival five-door hatchbacks like the Hyundai Ioniq and Nissan Leaf, the ID3 is built on a new platform called MEB in which the batteries are located below the cabin floor and between the axles.
In the typical VW fashion, the ID3 has a tidy design and becomes the first model to bear the brand’s new logo. The interior is kept simple with just two digital screens for the driver to focus on.
The Wolfsburg carmakers says the ID3 is roughly the size of a Golf albeit cabin space of a Passat. If you’re not familiar with those models, it’s like a Toyota Corolla with the room of a Camry.
Nice packaging. What’s the power like?
There are three battery sizes available in the ID3 for buyers to choose from. Kicking off the range is 45kWh lithium-ion good for 150hp and 330km of driving range.
The other two, both developing 204hp, have sizes of 58kWh and 77kWh good for 420km and 550km accordingly. Top speed is rated at 160kph.
Prices of the ID3 are expected to fall in line with the Leaf’s, that is, some two million baht if imported to Thai shores in entry-level form.
But VW isn’t planning to sell it here, right?
The ID3 is unlikely to go on sale in Thailand due for some reasons.
First, the brand itself is generally dormant when it comes to sales of passenger cars because there are no locally assembled products.
The other one is taxation. Sure, VW could do like Nissan and bring its BEV as a completely built-up import. But MG has already spoiled the BEV game in Thailand by selling a Chinese-made model that faces no import duty.
But it isn’t game over for VW yet as they have facilities in China, the world’s biggest market for not only cars but BEVs as well.
Building BEVs there and importing them to Thailand could be an option. Another VW Group brand that is reportedly looking at this strategy is Skoda, the Czech car arm of Europe’s automotive giant.
