Volkswagen will narrowly meet a deadline to start deliveries of its flagship ID.3 electric car, but early buyers will have to wait months for all the features to work.
The software issues contributed to a clash that cost CEO Herbert Diess direct control of Volkswagen’s namesake car brand, the group’s largest division.
VW intends to flank the ID.3 with an SUV sibling dubbed ID.4 later this year and add two large electric-car factories in China that can churn out more vehicles per year than Tesla sold in 2019.
VW’s supervisory board stripped Diess of his role as head of the VW car brand this week after the CEO accused board members of committing crimes by leaking confidential information to media.
Diess had been under pressure already after VW’s powerful labour representatives blamed him for the ID.3’s production hiccups and electronics issues plaguing the Golf hatchback.
