The information came in the form of an almost-overlooked tweet.
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| © Volkswagen |
By Andrew Krok, Roadshow
Sometimes, news doesn't make its way to the surface through
traditional channels -- sometimes, it's discovered almost a week later,
buried in an automaker's board member's tweets.
Jürgen Stackmann, VW's board member in charge of sales and marketing, tweeted on Dec. 6 that the electric I.D. hatchback
will tout a VW-estimated 342-mile range on the WLTP cycle, which is the
new standard Europe uses to measure economy. This is VW's internal
estimate, so it's possible that the actual WLTP figure could be a bit
higher or lower, but it should be pretty close.
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There is no specific formula to convert WLTP economy estimates to US-friendly EPA numbers. Carscoops, which first reported on Stackmann's tweet,
believes that the I.D. hatchback's range will be closer to 290 miles
when measured by EPA standards. That's still plenty, considering
Stackmann's tweet also claims the I.D. will cost about as much as a
current diesel Golf.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. |
The diesel Golf is available in a variety of
trims, so the cost can vary -- between $27,000 and $39,000, by
Carscoops' estimates (converted from euros, since they're not available
in the US anymore). Even nearing the higher end of those estimates, that
would pit the I.D. hatchback directly against the Tesla Model 3
in the US, which has similar range estimates. By the time the I.D.
makes it to the US, though, it'll have additional competition by way of
the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV, both of which also promise similar range figures for about the same cost.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. |
While
the I.D. hatchback will be the first EV in VW's new I.D. lineup to land
in Europe, things are different in the US. Since we can't get enough crossovers
at the moment, our first I.D. will be the I.D. Crozz, followed by
others like the Buzz microbus and the aforementioned hatchback. Patience
is a virtue.
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