Volkswagen ID 3 convertible under consideration

The Volkswagen ID 3 could get a convertible derivative. The company has hinted at a plan to expand its electric ID 3 range with the new variant, and is gauging support for the new model with a social media campaign.

• ID 3 could become the brand’s first all-electric convertible EV
• Carmaker undertaking social media campaign to gauge interest
• Could arrive with the facelifted ID 3 which is due in 2023

Posting on LinkedIn, Volkswagen CEO, Ralf Brandstätter, suggested that an open-roof version of the brand's electric hatchback "could provide an entirely new, extraordinary feeling of freedom". He added that the concept is "a very tempting idea", and that Volkswagen is considering how it could be taken to production.

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess took to Twitter to introduce the concept, asking followers: "We‘re thinking about an e-convertible, maybe an ID 3 convertible. What do you think?"

Volkswagen ID 3 convertible sketches

Volkswagen has revealed an early sketch of the ID 3 convertible, one of several that the design team has created "just in case" a production version gets the green light. Like the convertible version of the T-Roc crossover, the ID 3 would lose its rear doors in the name of improved structural rigidity, and wear a subtly tweaked rear end design to mark it out more obviously from the existing hard-top car.

Volkswagen ID Buggy production plans dropped

It is not the first time Volkswagen has hinted at the potential for an all-electric convertible model. The Meyers Manx-inspired, MEB-based ID Buggy was revealed to widespread acclaim at the 2019 Geneva motor show, and had been tipped for small-scale production, but was removed from Volkswagen's product plans when production partner e.Go Mobile filed for bankruptcy later that year, potentially leaving a gap in the line-up for another 'emotional' model.

"The convertible is the ultimate expression of emotional mobility," Stackmann told our sister publication, Autocar UK, echoing his earlier 2016 vow that Volkswagen "won't become a cold and technical brand" even as it embarks on a wide-reaching electrification programme.

Volkswagen ID 3 convertible could arrive in 2023

The T-Roc Cabriolet is now Volkswagen's only open-roof model in international markets, following the 2016 axing of the Golf Cabriolet, and the Beetle Cabriolet being dropped in 2019. Stackmann admitted that "from a rational side, you would never go into the convertible market", but the flexibility of the ID 3's MEB architecture means development and manufacturing costs would be significantly lower than with a similarly conceived combustion model, increasing the likelihood that such a model could see production.

If Volkswagen goes ahead with the drop-top ID 3, it will likely arrive as part of the hatchback's mid-life facelift, which would arrive around 2023.

Volkswagen’s plans for India

Focusing on India, 2021 is an important year for Volkswagen, with the carmaker set to launch new mass-market models under their India 2.0 plan. Volkswagen is set to launch a midsize sedan and midsize SUV – VW Taigun – underpinned by the company’s India-specific MQB A0 IN platform. The midsize SUV will go up against the popular Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, while the new midsize sedan – which replaces the VW Vento – will target the likes of the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna. VW’s midsize sedan and SUV will be joined by sister models from Skoda.

Volkswagen is also expected to re-launch the standard Tiguan in India this year. The carmaker revealed the facelifted SUV in global markets last year and the same is expected to arrive in India. As with the larger Allspace, the standard Tiguan too will be a petrol-only model. The company is also expected to launch the all-electric ID 4 in India in 2022.