Volkswagen’s ID.3 electric hatch is number 1

The VW ID.3 is proving a big success in Europe, thanks in incentives. Photos: Volkswagen

The Volkswagen ID.3 was Europe's best-selling full-electric car in October in only its second full month of sales.

The Golf-sized hatchback finished ahead of Renault Zoe that has been Europe’s top-selling EV for most of the year. The ID.3 was also recently awarded five star safety rating.

The Hyundai Kona was No. 3. The Tesla Model 3, which had strong sales earlier this year, dropped out of the EV top 10 in October.

VW's ID.3 had sales of 10,315 for the month, ahead of the Zoe at 9614 and the Hyundai Kona in third place with 5999 units sold, data from The European Electric Car Report.

EV sales in Europe have been boosted by generous government-backed incentives and by a push by automakers to hit stringent average CO2 emission reduction targets this year. In Germany, customers can get incentives of up to €9000 (NZ$15,000) to buy an EV.

VW Group’s e-mobility boss Thomas Ulbrich (above) says people want EVs.

Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Group's e-mobility boss, has spent two years overseeing VW's move to electrification and explained the current electric car boom.

“People want electric cars. Demand is rising sharply. In October, the market share of pure electric vehicles (BEV) in Germany was more than 8 percent. Including plug-in hybrids, it was even more than 17 percent,” he said.

“To put it into perspective: a year ago, we were still at two to three percent. Especially in the current situation – I’m referring to Covid 19 – this is a very strong development. Incentives certainly play a role here, but first and foremost, attractive models such as the ID.3 and ID.4 are now entering the market.“