The Driven

A new era of electric mobility has officially begun for German carmaker Volkswagen, with the first all-electric ID.3 hatchback rolling off the factory floor at the car-maker’s refurbished plant in Zwickau on the same day as Germany hiked electric vehicle subsidies, and as the carmaker looks to make EVs in the China and the US.

VW sees ID series – a range that Volkswagen intends to make in the millions – as redemption for its “dieselgate” emissions scandal, and the first of the range, the ID.3 will be priced below 30,000 euro ($A48,466 converted).

“For us it is much more than just the start of production of a car,” said VW board member Thomas Ulbrich at the live-streamed event attended by German leader Angela Merkel and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

“It is the beginning of a new era for the plant, for Volkswagen and definitely also to a certain extent for the German automotive industry as Volkswagen takes e-mobility into volume production.”

The Zwickau plant will make only electric cars, becoming the first car factory in Germany to do so.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…