German E-car start-up e.GO has started to deliver its compact car model e.GO Life in a bid to stir up the country’s automotive industry with its low-price electric vehicle.

The company from Aachen in western German region North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) says it has received about 3,300 pre-orders for the four-seater car that is set to cost between €15,900 and €19,900 in its basic version, a price that customers in Germany can bring down by €4,000 thanks to the country’s buyer’s premium for e-cars.

e.GO plans to serve all pre-orders by the beginning of next year and to also achieve an annual production of 15,000 cars by 2020.

NRW’s state premier Armin Laschet said the company had shown that it is possible to launch an innovative product in the state that so far has no special reputation for car production.

“NRW wants to become a vanguard, driver and catalyst for electric mobility in Germany. Besides the know-how we also need to base production of key components here,” he said.

The launch of e.GO’s delivery comes amid ambitious announcements regarding e-mobility by other German carmakers, especially by industry heavyweight Volkswagen.

The world’s biggest car company has started to take pre-orders for its new range of battery-powered models, saying its new model ID.3 will cost less than 30,000 euros and become “the car to beat for the future, for all our competitors.”

Also crowdfunded mobility startup Sono Motors has hit the 10,000 mark for pre-orders of its PV-clad model, Sion, which will cost 25,500 euros.

This story was first published on Clean Energy Wire. Republished with permission.