Volkswagen Group VWAGY is offering customers of ID.3 in China a battery-rental program just a month after launching the compact electric car in the market, cnEVpost reported on Tuesday.
What Happened: The report cited a buyer who bought an ID.3 without a battery at a much lower cost than the retail price.
The ID.3 is priced at $27,200 (RMB 173,888), while the customer grabbed it at just around RMB 110,000 as it did not include the battery.
Volkswagen is reportedly offering the battery-leasing option as a flat amount, interest free loan for five years; the program is said to be valid until the end of this year.
Why It Matters: The German automaker’s rental program brings down the cost of owning the electric vehicle though customers still have to pay back the loan.
Chinese electric vehicle rival Nio Inc NIO offers a similar program. Nio also offers a battery-swap option for its buyers wherein they don't have to purchase a battery when they buy a car.
The locally made compact electric vehicle ID.3, which is among the top-selling electric cars in Europe, is the third such model from Volkswagen in China.
Volkswagen also makes and sells the ID.4 and ID.6 electric vehicles in China.
See Also: Volkswagen Beats Xpeng, Li Auto And Nio Numbers For Octobers With Its ID. Series Deliveries In China
The German automaker sold 12,736 locally made ID. series electric vehicles in China in October, more than the monthly delivery numbers of Nio and Xpeng Inc XPEV.
Price Action: VWAGY shares closed 0.37% lower at $31.14 a share on Monday.
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Photo: Courtesy of Volkswagen
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