The new Volkswagen ID.3 has set its first range record: The electric car covered the 531 kilometers from Zwickau to Schaffhausen (Switzerland) on a single charge. Officially, the model has a range of up to 420 kilometers (WLTP). This mark was topped by more than 100 kilometers – an increase of 26 percent.
The vehicle was a series production ID.3 1st Pro Performance with a 58 kWh battery built at the Zwickau electric car factory. The route to Switzerland consisted entirely of public roads and highways, passing cities such as Bayreuth and Ulm.
The record-breaking vehicle was driven by “hypermiler” Felix Egolf, a native of Switzerland. The term “hypermiling” originated in the USA and refers to driving a series production vehicle with techniques that maximise efficiency and minimise consumption.
“This car has everything, it is compact but spacious, has a cool, almost futuristic design and a low drag coefficient”, Egolf said after arriving in Schaffhausen.
Although the record-breaking journey is not entirely comparable with day-to-day trips, it nevertheless underpins the everyday practicality of the ID.3. “With its high-volt battery, efficient drivetrain and fast charging capability, even long journeys are not a problem”, said Reinhard de Vries, Managing Director Technology and Logistics at Volkswagen Sachsen. “This is also a strong message for the team in Zwickau and for the entire ID. team.”
Apart from the technology, the race to break records depends above all on an economical driving style. Felix Egolf constantly lifted off the accelerator and let the ID.3 coast. On the highway sections of the journey, he sometimes used the slipstream of trucks travelling in front of him. The weight, on the other hand, was not ideal: The additional weight of the cameraman plus technical equipment took the total payload to around 250 kilos. In addition, auxiliary consumers such as navigation, daytime running lights, radio and ventilation were either temporarily or permanently in operation. Nevertheless, power consumption was a mere 10.9 kWh/100 km. The standardised consumption rating of the ID.3 is 15.4-14.5 kWh/100 km.
44 percent of the record journey was on highways and 56 percent on country roads. Average speed was 56 km/h. Felix Egolf completed the journey from Zwickau to Schaffhausen in roughly nine hours. The vehicle that clocked up the record was a manganese grey ID.3 1st Pro Performance with a 58 kWh battery and 204 PS.
The ID.3 is built at the Zwickau electric car factory and is the first member of Volkswagen’s all-electric ID. family. The plant in Saxony plays a key role in the system changeover to e-mobility: For the first time, a large car manufacturing plant is being entirely converted to e-mobility, with investments running at some €1.2 billion. All conversion work will be completed as scheduled this year. In 2021, the first full production year as an EV factory, some 300,000 electric vehicles based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB) will leave the Zwickau plant. The site will therefore become the largest and most efficient EV factory in Europe and a trailblazer in the transformation of Volkswagen’s global production network.
