The Volkswagen ID.3 has set its first range record after driving 531km from Zwickau to Schaffhausen in Switzerland on a single charge.

The record means that the ID.3 managed to exceed its 420km World harmonised Light-duty vehicles Test Procedure range by more than 100km.

The vehicle used in the record attempt was a series production ID.3 1^st Pro Performance with a 58kWh battery, and was built at the Zwickau electric car factory. The route to Switzerland consisted entirely of public roads and highways, passing cities such as Bayreuth and Ulm.

The record journey was accomplished by experienced 'hypermiler' Felix Egolf, who had to constantly lift off the accelerator throughout the journey to let the ID.3 coast. On the highway sections of the journey, he also sometimes used the slipstream of trucks travelling in front of him.

However, the record run was also hampered by the additional weight of the cameraman and various technical equipment, which took the total payload to around 250kg. In addition, auxiliary consumers such as navigation, daytime running lights, the radio and ventilation were also either temporarily or permanently in operation. Power consumption from the ID.3 was a mere 9.17km/kWh. The standardised consumption rating of the ID.3 is 6.49km/kWh to 6.9km/kWh.