The career of the Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatchback is heading towards sunset, it did not become a world-class hit, and therefore the organization of its production at the head plant of the brand in Wolfsburg, Germany, it lost its meaning.
Last year, sales of the Volkswagen ID.3 worldwide amounted to 140,800 units. — this is an impressive figure, but far from what the German automaker counted on when launching this model five years ago. The ID.3 debuted in September 2019, it was presented as an epoch-making product on the level of the Beetle and Golf — they say that the ID.3 should become just as successful and widespread. The ID.3 entered the market with a long delay (in September 2020) and with a bunch of shortcomings; its production was rocked for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global shortage of microchips generated by it, and when all production problems were solved, on the world market suddenly there was a decline in demand for electric vehicles.
Restyled Volkswagen ID.3 1/3 
Restyled Volkswagen ID.3 2/3 
Restyled Volkswagen ID.3 3/3
The bulk of the Volkswagen ID.3 for Europe today It is produced at the plant in Zwickau (Germany), and the related Cupra Born hatchback has been assembled here since 2021. Volkswagen ID.3 is also assembled in small quantities at the so-called Glass Manufactory in Dresden (Germany). Versions of the Volkswagen ID.3 for China are produced by the SAIC-VW joint venture in Anting (part of Shanghai).
Production of the Volkswagen ID.3 at the Zwickau plant
Last year, the ID.3 underwent a planned restyling, after which Volkswagen expected to set up its production at the head plant in Wolfsburg — this intention was officially announced at the end of 2022 as part of the presentation of the updated modular MEB+ platform. The start of production of the updated Volkswagen ID.3 in Wolfsburg was initially scheduled for the end of 2023, then postponed to the summer of 2024, but now the German newspaper Handelsblatt reports that everything is canceled — the ID.3 will not appear in Wolfsburg.
The decision of Volkswagen management to cancel the launch of the ID.3 looks long-awaited and even belated, because last fall the Zwickau plant had to be paused due to low demand for the ID.3. Given the current sales volumes of this model, four sites for its production are clearly overkill, especially since the forecasts do not promise anything good.
The euphoria about electric vehicles is gradually passing, many automakers have become sharply pessimistic about their electric vehicle plans, and only the management of the Volkswagen Group seems to be at some loss, not understanding how to build a long-term strategy now. So far, the preparation of the Wolfsburg plant for the production of electric vehicles continues, but it is already clear that they will not replace “hydrocarbon” models in the foreseeable future.