Having a heat pump in an electric car can be big bonus when driving around in cold temperatures. The efficiency of the unit can help add more than just a few kilometers to your range, something that is very important for electric vehicle (EV) owners.
When VW brought the ID.3 and ID.4 to market, it offered the EVs with an optional heat pump (it will actually come standard on the ID.4 in Canada when it released later this year), saying it will save precious range at temperatures below -25°C (-13°F).
VW now admits those claims were overstated by as much as 10% to 20%. The findings came about through “customer feedback and internal valuations”. As a result, they will be issuing refunds in the amount of €285 ($418 CAD) to 56,230 ID.3 and ID.4 owners in Europe.
That amounts to a total of €16,025,550 ($23,553,129 CAD), not exactly a small amount of money.
They have also lowered the price of the optional heat pump, down from €1,250 to €990 ($1,454 CAD), Volkswagen says.
According to a report by Bild.de, the automaker is working to make the heat pump more efficient through a software update to be released later this year.
We have reached out to Volkswagen Canada to see if there will be any adjustments to ID.4 pricing in North America, and will update this article when we receive a response.
UPDATE: In a statement to Drive Tesla, a VW spokesperson says there will be no price adjustments in Canada.
“We are very happy to have included the heat pump as standard equipment in all ID.4 models bound for Canada. The addition of this feature will significantly improve the performance of the vehicle’s battery in the most adverse (ie. Canadian) of conditions. We are also extremely happy to be able to offer the ID.4 at a starting price of $44,995, which qualifies it for all national and provincial EV programs (where applicable). We are quite confident that the pricing of the ID.4 makes it the most compelling offer in the Canadian marketplace and will not be altering our strategy at this point in time.”
