VW's new electric car passes 10,000 orders in just 24 hours

Volkswagen has claimed that pre-orders for its ID.3 electric hatchback surpassed 10,000 cars in just 24 hours.

The auto giant revealed Wednesday that the entry-level car will cost less than 30,000 euros ($33,600), with deliveries in Europe slated for the middle of 2020.

VW's Golf-sized ID.3 will officially launch this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The car is named ID.3 because Volkswagen views the model as the third major evolution in the firm's history, after the Golf and Beetle.

The German automaker started to accept pre-orders for the ID.3 Wednesday, asking for a deposit of 1,000 euros.

Customers who pre-book can officially order their cars after the Frankfurt show. Orders become binding in April 2020, with those who change their mind able to get a full refund until then.

Volkswagen sales boss Jürgen Stackmann said on Twitter Thursday that more than 10,000 registrations were received throughout Europe within 24 hours of the launch.

That number falls well short of the launch of the Tesla Model 3 in April 2016. According to the company's chief executive Elon Musk, in just two days the Model 3 generated 276,000 pre-orders secured by deposits of $1000.

On Wednesday, VW's Stackmann told reporters that the electric car will allow for more internal space than a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE).

"From the outside, the ID.3 will be as large as a Golf. In the interior, it will be as spacious as a medium-sized car."

VW plans to sell three versions of the ID.3 (45kWh, 58kWh, 77kWh) with varying ranges (200 miles, 261 miles and 342 miles).

The German firm said a full warranty on the ID.3's battery will cover eight years, just under 100,000 miles or the normal depreciation of the battery to 70% of its original maximum capacity.

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