Volkswagen ID.3 battery life solid after 160,000km
Tests on the four-year-old EV saw 9 per cent battery degradation, offset by range-boosting softwareIndependent engineers in Germany have discovered the high-voltage battery on a Volkswagen ID.3 is lasting longer than expected after the VW hatch was found to have lost just 13km of range after travelling 160,000km over four years.
According to the German breakdown service ADAC, tests involving a VW ID.3 with a 77kWh battery had lost just 9 per cent of its capacity after hard use, where its staff regularly topped it up to 100 per cent and then left it to stand for several days.
Engineers claim the range could have been impacted more but thanks to software updates rolled out over the four-year ownership, energy efficiency had gradually improved to offset the battery losses.
Back in 2021 the VW ID.3 originally started its life averaging 20.0kWh/100km in testing, but now averages 18.3kWh/100km, while over the 160,000km driven ADAC said the ID.3 averaged 23kWh/100km.
Other improvements over its life including the time it took to charge. While originally the charging rate was capped at 125kW, the ID.3 can now be topped up at up to 160kW, saving more than two minutes when filling the battery from 10-80 per cent.
The battery's decline has been impressive, considering its usage, say ADAC with it retaining 96 per cent of its capacity up until 59,000km when it dropped to 95 per cent at 69k, 94 per cent at 84k and 93 per cent at 102k.
The 91 per cent level was only reached once the VW had covered 145,000km, with the VW ID.3 maintaining the same capacity the last time engineers tested batteries with the VW EV indicating 169,651km on the clock.
The performance of the VW ID.3 suggests it is well clear of needing to be replaced under Volkswagen's warranty cover, that guarantees the high-voltage battery must deliver 70 per cent of its original capacity after 160,000km or 10 years of life.
Instead of ending its real-world experiment, engineers from ADAC said they will continue to test the Volkswagen ID.3 and will release its battery findings when the VW EV has passed 250,000km.
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