A NEW version of Volkswagen's all-electric ID.3 hatchback has been announced with a lower price of £28,670 after the Government grant for low emission vehicles.

That is some £5,000 below the cost of the mainstream model and sees the ID.3 Pro option available across Life, Business and Family trim levels.

Two power levels are being produced - 145 and 204ps - and both have a range up to 263 miles. Charging can be as quick as 35 minutes up to 80 per cent capacity.

Performance data for the Pro model is a 0 to 60 acceleration time of 9.6 seconds with the more powerful model cutting that to less than eight seconds.

A bigger battery is also available on Tour Pro Performance versions giving them a range of up to 336 miles. That model is priced from £39,920.

The car is coming on stream as VW goes about releasing its second ID model - the larger ID.4 SUV.

VW says further additions to the ID.3 range will arrive during 2021 including the smallest Pure model with a 45kWh battery.

Full details and timings of the new variants will be released in due course.