VW shows renderings of ID electric-car concept for Paris Motor Show

Volkswagen presently sells just one all-electric car under its own brand in multiple markets, the e-Golf electric variant of its well-known five-door compact hatchback.

But in the wake of continuing fallout from the Volkswagen diesel scandal, the company is wrenching itself toward a more electric future.

It has just released the first renderings of the electric-car concept it will unveil tomorrow at the Paris Motor Show, to be called "I.D."

To underscore just how much of a change VW expects the car to represent, it's comparing the car to the original Beetle—with the theme, "Think New," echoing that car's famous "Think Small" ads half a century ago.

This "iconic design study" is intended to signal "the brand's entry into a new era," Volkswagen says, and the concept is "as revolutionary as the Beetle was seven decades ago before it evolved into the world's best-selling car of the century."

The concept "has the potential to make history" as the first high-volume electric vehicle from the German brand. And this time around, the car isn't retro-cute but a smoothly shaped five-door hatchback with the well-known round VW symbol on the nose

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Teaser for Volkswagen electric car concept debuting at 2016 Paris auto show

The concept vehicle will be the first vehicle produced on the MEB architecure for compact-sized electric cars that the company discussed last year.

VW says the production version will arrive in 2020, to be sold alongside the Golf, with a range of 400 to 600 kilometers (250 to 375 miles) on a single battery charge.

Because the European test cycle is notoriously gentle, that might translate to ranges of perhaps 200 to 300 miles under the U.S. EPA test cycles and adjustment factors.

The VW ID will have a motor output of 125 kilowatts (168 horsepower),the company says, and from 2025, will offer fully autonomous driving.

Volkswagen has said it plans to launch 30 new electric models across multiple brands between now and 2025.

Teaser for Volkswagen electric car concept debuting at 2016 Paris auto show

Two weeks ago, it released three teaser photos of the concept, showing portions of sketches that it says were made for the project.

Unsurprisingly, those carried numerous design elements that are instantly identifiable as Volkswagen hallmarks.

Those include large circular "VW" badges, headlights with pointed inside edges, and taillights that wrap around the corners of the rear.

It appears to have slightly more rounded corners and edges on the classic square-cut Volkswagen shape, but the full form of the vehicle remains unknown.

Teaser for Volkswagen electric car concept debuting at 2016 Paris auto show

Another technical advance promised by VW Group CEO Matthias Mueller is DC fast-charging to recharge the battery pack to 80 percent capacity in just 15 minutes.

That would require considerably higher-rate current delivery under the Combined Charging System (CCS) protocol than has yet been adopted by that standard's working group.

While the car is expected to fall squarely in what Europeans call the C-segment, or compact size, it will likely have the interior volume of a much larger vehicle—VW calls it an "entirely new spatial experience"—than its footprint would indicate.

That underscores the packaging advantages of a tall and upright hatchback sitting on a dedicated electric-vehicle architecture, as the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV demonstrates.

GM's upcoming electric hatchback contains 94.4 cubic feet of interior volume, more than the Nissan Leaf and roughly equal to that of the far larger Tesla Model S.

Volkswagen Budd-e Concept

While VW calls the ID production car "the first Volkswagen in a completely new fleet of highly innovative electric vehicles," some reports indicate that it may not be the very first dedicated electric vehicle from the brand.

According to the British publication Autocar and other sources, the first of five dedicated electric Volkswagens to go on sale will be a production version of the well-received Budd-e "electric Microbus" shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Volkswagen Will Debut New Electric Car In Paris

The automotive world has come unhinged this week at the news that Tesla now offers a $160,000 car which hurtles to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, can break the sound barrier, and is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. While that is exciting news, it doesn’t do much for the poor schlubs (like me) who are trying to wrest a modest living from rocky soil.

Volkswagen, however, made an announcement this week that may be far more important to the common man and woman. It says it will have a near-production prototype on display at the Paris auto show in September that will have more than 300 miles of range and feature state of the art technology. It also says it will retail for less than the price of a conventional car with a gasoline or diesel engine.

A charging time of 15 minutes is rumored. You have to wonder if that is using the 800 volt charging system said to be under development for the Porsche Mission-E electric sports car and if so, how many of the high power chargers will be available for public use.

That reported range is probably based on the overly generous European standard, but translate it to its EPA equivalent and it is still around 225 miles. The Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt are supposed to have about the same range, but neither is making any claim to selling for less than an equivalent gas powered car. If Volkswagen can pull this off, that will really be a transformative moment in the history of the automobile. An electric car for Everyman. Just think what that could mean for the industry and the future of mankind.

Speaking to German newspaper WirtschaftWoche (Industry and Economy Week) recently, Volkswagen chairman Herbert Diess said the car would have the outside dimensions of the Golf but offer the interior space of the larger Passat. It will be the first car built on the company’s latest MEB chassis, specifically designed for all electric cars like the BUDD-e concept that appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show last January. Diess says it should be market ready in late 2018 or early 2019.

The car “will make a huge statement,” a senior engineer with knowledge of VW’s research and development plans told Autocar. “It’s planned to use cutting-edge technology but at a price that makes it attainable for the average motorist.”

Diess reportedly has given company engineers free rein to create “the Volkswagen for the digital age” and challenged them to set new benchmarks for electric performance. In addition, he wants them to develop cutting edge connectivity and infotainment systems and style the car so it stands out from other cars on the road.

All this activity at Volkswagen has come as the result of the emissions cheating disaster that came to light a year ago. In an odd way, that debacle could be the spark Volkswagen needed to uncouple itself from its fossil fuel past and focus on its zero emission future. Many other car makers are paying lip service to the electric car revolution, but you can tell their heart really isn’t in it.

“We are using the current crisis to fundamentally realign the group,” VW Group CEO Matthias Müller says. “I feel we now have the chance to build a new and better Volkswagen.” The diesel engine was supposed to propel Volkswagen to the top of the world’s automotive manufacturers. How ironic would it be if the electric motor ends up doing for Volkswagen what the diesel engine never could?

Source and graphic credit: Autocar

Volkswagen To Build Electric Cars In North America

Mired in a self imposed malaise composed of equal parts diesel exhaust and corporate malfeasance, Volkswagen is trying desperately to reposition itself as an electric car company and put the stink of its emissions cheating scandal behind it. During an interview near the company’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee recently, Hinrich Woebcken, the newest and latest head of Volkswagen’s US operations, confirmed the German auto maker plans to build electric vehicles in North America by 2020. “We believe that this country, especially in urban mobility, will have a very strong shift from petrol engines into hybridization and electric cars,” Mr. Woebcken said. “We are heavily investing in this one—including production in this North American region.”

Woebcken was short on details. He did not specify which models the company would build or where they would be built. In addition to the factory in Tennessee, Volkswagen also has a large production facility in Mexico. It would be good politics to build electric cars in the US to help mollify regulators who are threatening the company with billions in fines. The company has already agreed to pay nearly $15 billion to resolve legal claims brought by federal and state authorities.

Just yesterday, it was hit with civil law suits brought by the states of New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland seeking millions more. The attorneys general of those states allege senior officials conspired to mislead officials. After an exhaustive investigation, they say the fraud went all the way up to Martin Winterkorn, who was head of the company briefly before resigning in disgrace.

Last January, Volkswagen unveiled its BUDD-e concept car at the CES Show in Las Vegas. Featuring an all new chassis designed from the ground up for vehicles with all electric powertrains. It offers clues to the company’s pathway to the future.

Volkswagen’s plans to transition to electric cars is all well and good, but that leaves unanswered the question of who is going to buy them? Just yesterday, federal officials announced that automakers would get a reprieve from the proposed 54.5 mpg CAFE goal for 2025. In an announcement accompanying the release of a new Technical Assessment Report, the EPA and others said that manufacturers should be able to meet upcoming fuel economy standards using improved internal combustion engines. They won’t need hybrids, plug-in hybrids or electric cars to meet those goals, regulators say.

That can hardly be good news for a company that plans to dig itself out of a very deep hole by selling electric cars to the masses.

Source: Wall Street Journal    Photo credit: Volkswagen

Volkswagen Plans $11 Billion Battery Factory

Humiliated by its diesel emissions cheating scandal and facing billions of dollars in fines, penalties, and civil liability claims, Volkswagen has had an epiphany. Where once it thought turbodiesel engines would propel it to the top of the heap among the world’s automakers, it now has decided battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars are the one true path to salvation.

According to Handelsblatt, Germany’s respected business newspaper, the Volkswagen board will vote on June 22 on a proposal to invest $11 billion in a dedicated battery making factory in Salzgitter where it currently manufacturers internal combustion engines.

The newspaper says VW wants to be independent of the world’s principal battery makers — Panasonic, LG Chem, and Samsung.  It offered no details on what battery chemistry Volkswagen will use to produce its batteries.

Volkswagen’s new head, Matthias Müller, says he and his team are working on a new strategy to dig the company out from under the diesel emissions cheating mess that has left it humiliated and demoralized. The plan calls for producing 1 million electric and plug-in hybrid cars annually by the year 2025. That is 5 years after Elon Musk says Tesla Motors will accomplish the same feat.

The Volkswagen strategy relies heavily on the new MQB modular chassis it has developed for the BUDD-e electric car unveiled at CES in January. The new platform will support both all electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains, allowing Volkswagen to adjust rapidly to changing customer expectations.

The fallout from the diesel cheating scandal has already trimmed the company’s share price by one third. It could cost the company as much as $30 billion to resolve all claims outstanding worldwide as a result of it. Authorities in the US and Korea are still considering possible criminal charges against the company.

Adding an $11 billion investment on top of all that is a bold, even daring move. But the Volkswagen board may believe the company has no other choice if it wishes to claw its way back to the top of the global automobile business.

Source: Quartz  Photo credit: Volkswagen

Volkswagen Says It Will Lead In Electric And Autonomous Car Technology

Jürgen Stackmann, head of sales and marketing for Volkswagen, says his company it prepared to lead the way forward for electric cars and autonomous cars. He make it clear that VW is not in awe of such high tech challengers as Apple or Google. (Notice he left Tesla Motors out of the discussion.) “Newcomers will see opportunities in the current climate, and we are not afraid to face the challenge from them,” he said.

Stackmann said he believes an industry-changing car will be launched within a decade, combining a full electric powertrain with a widespread inductive charging network, a fully internet-enabled cabin and autonomous driving features. At that point “the dots are connected, and the car maker that gets there first wins. But the challenge for the start-ups is meeting the quality levels that the car industry is so well practiced in, from 10 year durability standards to building car after car to the same levels.”

Stackman says Volkswagen’s size and experience will carry the day against the newcomers. He boasts that VW has 40,000 engineers, more substantial access to resources, and can make innovations at more competitive prices. “What’s clear is that today we have expertise in hugely complex areas, like developing engines and gearboxes, that start-up companies will not have to worry about, because electrical powertrains require a different kind of complexity. There could be a race between the hardware and software makers to find out who emerges on top in the car industry.”

Volkswagen intends to have a fully connected electric car with 300 miles of range that can be recharged in 15 minutes on the market by the end of this decade. That car will sell for less than the price of a conventional car, Stackman says. Those are brave words that may be intended to cast a few rays of sunshine into the gloom cast by Volkswagen’s diesel cheating scandal. That debacle could drain up to $20 billion from company coffers, money that could have been used to develop the technology Volkswagen will need to be competitive in the future. Stackman’s comments may sound a little like whistling past the graveyard to some.

Source: Autocar via Inside EVs

Volkswagen BUDD-e Is An Electric People Mover With 250 Mile Range

The Volkswagen BUDD-e was one of the worst kept secrets at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Everybody knew Volkswagen was bringing a new electric vehicle to the show and we were 99 and 44/100% sure it would pay homage to the iconic VW Microbus. More than any other vehicle, that humble creation spelled freedom for lots of Americans. A car with good gas mileage that you could sleep in at the end of the day? Parents loathed them; young people adored them.

It’s like the VW bus was made for the libertine ethos of the 60’s. It carried hordes of young Americans to Woodstock. It became the official car of Haight-Ashbury. Every one of them sported a peace sign somewhere and had a Janis Joplin tape in the cassette player. What better way to make nervous Americans forget about diesel cheating software than to remind them of the good times they had, kicking back and getting high in a V Dub bus?

It turns out, the BUDD-e is quite an interesting re-interpretation of the original. Volkswagen engineers worked overtime to make the electric motors as small as possible, leaving more space for the people inside. It features an L shaped couch that cascades down the wall behind the driver’s seat before turning and continuing the width of the car at the rear. The front passenger seat swivels so the person in it can enjoy valuable face time with those in back.

Best of all, it has a 101 kWh battery mounted under the floor — the largest battery in a production car to date. Volkswagen says it can go 373 miles in the European test mode. EPA numbers are typically about 1/3 less, but that still means it will have almost 250 miles of range, which is better than the Tesla Model X. With its boxy styling, it will also likely be able to haul more stuff than Model X. Volkswagen hasn’t said anything about towing capacity.

What it has said is that it will be possible to recharge the car’s battery to 80% in just 30 minutes. To do that, hints Dr. Volkmar Tannenberger, Volkswagen’s global head of electric and electronic development, it may use the 800 volt charging technology being developed by Porsche for its Mission E four door electric sports car, according to Green Car Reports. Of course, that will require an expensive and extensive modification program of existiing CCS charging facilities.

There is one area of agreement between the Volkswagen BUDD-e and the fanciful Faraday Future FFZero1. Both rely heavily on a basic architecture that can be stretched or compressed to make virtually any kind of vehicle the market demands. Volkswagen’s new chassis is known internally as MEB, which stands for Modular Electric Toolkit, assuming you speak German. VW hasn’t said the BUDD-e is definitely going into production or what it might cost, but the MEB chassis, the hand gesture controls and the extensive internet connectivity are features that will definitely be seen in Volkswagen production cars soon, says Automotive News. In fact, the dashboard features of the BUDD-e will appear in the Golf-e in Europe later this year before expanding to include other world markets.

Elon Musk has recently implored Volkswagen and other companies to make more and better electric cars. Will the family of cars built on the MEB chassis satisfy Musk’s demand? They will be appearing in showrooms between now and the end of the decade. For many folks, they can’t come soon enou