Photo: VW Norway
A boat-full of Volkswagen's latest electric hatchbacks have disembarked on Norwegian ground this morning, marking the first arrival of customer-bound ID.3s in the country with the highest EV adoption rate in the world.
Taking advantage of its relatively small car market, the Scandinavian country was able to shift the paradigm from fossil fuel to electric a lot more quickly and effectively than a large market could ever dream to. Right now, BEVs and PHEVs account for more than half of Norway's car market share, and the figures are constantly rising.
And they will definitely continue to, especially now that Volkswagen is starting deliveries of the model that most of Europe has been waiting for. Forget about the Golf or the Passat - the ID.3 is going to be the most crucial model for the German carmaker in a long time. It's been called Volkswagen's third key model for a reason, following the footsteps of the Beetle and Golf.
Like those two iconic models, the ID.3 aims to be true to the literal meaning of the brand's name (people's car) and appeal to a large section of the public. The electric hatchback represents the first purpose-built EV from Volkswagen, using the company's MEB platform that is soon to underpin a lot of other battery-powered models, starting with the ID.4 crossover next year.
After the delays - caused by a combination of software issues and the global pandemic - that saw the ID.3's launch being pushed to September, it looks as though the new model has entered the home stretch. Pretty soon we will find out whether the compact model is good enough to spark Volkswagen's ascension in the world of EVs or will go down as yet another disappointing effort from the clueless traditional manufacturers.
All the initial reactions we've seen so far from independent journalists are promising, but there's no better gauge than the actual public reaction. Take the Tesla Model Y, for example: the electric crossover is riddled with quality issues, and yet almost all buyers say they don't regret their acquisition and would do it all over again if given the chance. People are strange.
With 700 ID.3s already in Norway and a lot more on their way, we will soon get a very clear impression of what the car is like. Expect Bjorn Nyland to get his hands on one the moment deliveries start, so we'll soon learn how many banana boxes fit in the trunk and other important bits.
And they will definitely continue to, especially now that Volkswagen is starting deliveries of the model that most of Europe has been waiting for. Forget about the Golf or the Passat - the ID.3 is going to be the most crucial model for the German carmaker in a long time. It's been called Volkswagen's third key model for a reason, following the footsteps of the Beetle and Golf.
Like those two iconic models, the ID.3 aims to be true to the literal meaning of the brand's name (people's car) and appeal to a large section of the public. The electric hatchback represents the first purpose-built EV from Volkswagen, using the company's MEB platform that is soon to underpin a lot of other battery-powered models, starting with the ID.4 crossover next year.
After the delays - caused by a combination of software issues and the global pandemic - that saw the ID.3's launch being pushed to September, it looks as though the new model has entered the home stretch. Pretty soon we will find out whether the compact model is good enough to spark Volkswagen's ascension in the world of EVs or will go down as yet another disappointing effort from the clueless traditional manufacturers.
All the initial reactions we've seen so far from independent journalists are promising, but there's no better gauge than the actual public reaction. Take the Tesla Model Y, for example: the electric crossover is riddled with quality issues, and yet almost all buyers say they don't regret their acquisition and would do it all over again if given the chance. People are strange.
With 700 ID.3s already in Norway and a lot more on their way, we will soon get a very clear impression of what the car is like. Expect Bjorn Nyland to get his hands on one the moment deliveries start, so we'll soon learn how many banana boxes fit in the trunk and other important bits.
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