More than 30,000 people have put in a reservation for Volkswagen’s first purpose-built electric car ID.3, which will be unveiled at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show and is a litmus test for the company’s huge electric ambitions. The world’s largest carmaker said most of the pre-bookers live in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. “More than 100,000 further ID. fans have registered for the ID.3 newsletter,” VW said. “This success shows that the ID.3 is coming at precisely the right time. More and more people want to switch over to e-mobility,” according to Clean Energy Wire.

The company also said it had finalized a 50/50 joint venture with Swedish battery specialist Northvolt to build a factory for lithium-ion batteries.