Volkswagen will make a version of the ID.3 electric specific to the Chinese market. The model will be produced at the brand’s new factory in Shanghai, specifically to create electrical models on the MEB platform. The factory works lasted only one year, and the assembly line will be fully operational by October 2020.
The MEB electric motor has 204 horsepower and there are three battery options. The most popular will be 58 kW, capable of running 420 kilometers. There are also two other options, with 45 kWh, 330 kilometers, and 77 kWh, capable of running 550 kilometers between recharges. Volkswagen reports that in a 100 kWh power outlet, ID.3 can recover up to 290 kilometers of autonomy in 30 minutes plugged into the power grid.
The automaker wrote about the motor:
“The rotor and stator are produced at the component plant in Salzgitter. New hairpin technology has enabled the use of an innovative production process for the assembly of the stator, whereby the spaces within the laminated core of the stator are optimally filled with flat preformed copper coils. It increases the torque density and the efficiency of the electric drive in comparison to that of a drive with wound copper wire coils. Maximum torque is achieved even at low engine speed, which means that a 1-speed gearbox is sufficient for the entire rotational speed range. Both the electric drive and the 1-speed gearbox are produced at the component plant in Kassel.”
