KATHMANDU: The German Automobile Club (ADAC) has shared long-term test results for the Volkswagen ID.3 electric car. After four years and 172,000 km of use, the battery is still in very good condition. The ID.3 in the test had a 77kWh battery. It lost only 9% of its capacity. The driving range went down by just 13 km.
Volkswagen says the battery should keep at least 70% capacity after 10 years or 160,000 km. The test results show the ID.3 is doing much better than that.
ADAC engineers used the car daily and charged it to 100% regularly. The battery often stayed at full charge for days. Even so, the battery remained healthy. It was 96% healthy at 21,700 km and held that level until 69,500 km. It then dropped slightly to 95% at 84,300 km and gradually declined to 91% at 145,800 km.
The car also received software updates over time. These updates improved energy use. In 2021, the ID.3 used 1 kilowatt-hour to travel 5 km. The latest test shows an improvement to 5.47 km per kilowatt-hour. On average, across the full test, the ID.3 managed 4.34 km per kilowatt-hour.
Charging speed also improved. Initially, the ID.3 could charge at a maximum of 125kW. After updates, it now charges at up to 160kW. This upgrade reduced the charging time from 10% to 80% by about two minutes.
ADAC says it will continue to test the ID.3. They plan to check the battery again as it reaches 250,000 km to further study its long-term performance.
