Last Updated on: 16th July 2025, 12:48 am

Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) is a German automobile club that conducts widely respected 3rd party testing of automobiles. It recently did endurance testing of the Volkswagen ID.3. Well, let me clarify — it recently wrapped up testing of the Volkswagen ID.3 that spanned 4 years. The results are quite good.

ADAC’s Test and Technology Centre in Landsberg am Lech did the testing, and engineers there drove the ID.3 160,000 kilometers across those 4 years. After those 4 years and 160,000 kilometers, the ID.3’s battery still retained 91% of its initial energy storage capacity, or range on a full charge.

Specifically, the model was an ID.3 Pro S with a 77 kWh battery (net).

For a little more context, Volkswagen’s battery warranty promises 70% of initial capacity after 160,000 km. (Hence the distance the engineers drove the car, I guess.) Well, 91% is well above the promised 70%! No one tell the EV critics who claim that you will have to buy a new $50,000 battery after 5 years!

As much as the ID.3 has been criticized and made fun of for early tech issues (software/UI issues) and has not been praised for the high sales volumes it has achieved, this shows that Volkswagen did a great job of designing the fundamentals of the car and protecting the all-important battery.

“The result shows the impressive quality of our ID. models even after covering many kilometres,” noted Martin Sander, Volkswagen Board member responsible for Sales, Marketing and After Sales. “A high battery capacity of over 90 per cent after 160,000 kilometres confirms that our ID. models are also very attractive as used cars and continue to meet the requirements of our customers.”

Yes, indeed, the point about used cars is a big one now. We have large volumes of EVs on the used car market finally, and the #1 question of buyers has to be about batteries. The better Volkswagen can help protect/prop up the resale value of its cars, the more likely original buyers will pass their cars on to others (sell them) and buy new EVs from Volkswagen. It doesn’t have to be altruistic, though, for it to be important and useful information Volkswagen is sharing with people.

Unfortunately, here in the US, the endurance of an ID.3’s battery doesn’t really matter, since the car has never been sold here and most likely never will be. However, the ID.4 is a top selling EV in the US, and one can assume that ID.4 batteries are going to hold up about as well as ID.3 batteries.

Additionally, Volkswagen points out that this ID.3 they tested wasn’t babied. “The ADAC testers did not go easy on the battery. In order to reach the 160,000 kilometres as quickly as possible, rapid charging stations were used to charge the ID.3 for over 40 per cent of the charging sessions. In addition, contrary to what is recommended, the vehicle was also left at the charging station with a 100 per cent charge level between test drives, sometimes over several days.” Wowza!! They were trying to wreck the battery it seems!

Other parts of the car also held up well, reportedly — including the body of the car itself and the chassis. As a funny addendum, ADAC recommended keeping your car’s software up to date.

“The ADAC has a clear recommendation for customers: software updates should always be installed. During the endurance test, the ID.3 received several software updates — including the Electric Vehicle Route Planner, which plans the charging stops on a longer route so the destination is reached as quickly as possible. In addition to the charge level, the system also takes into account the current traffic situation and forecasts. Alongside various bug fixes, the updates included an increase in charging capacity to up to 170 kW.

“The updates also had a positive effect on consumption and thus the range. In particular, the new software significantly improved power consumption over short distances and in winter temperatures from 0 to 5°C.”

In any case, the testing should certainly assure ID.3 and ID.4 owners that they are sitting in quality electric vehicles.