The saviour of beleaguered VWlooks like it might an electric car.
VW’s future may depend on the electric car
Pardon the tired old Phoenix rising clichés, but if Volkswagen is to emerge from the ashes of its debilitating, now-one-year-old Dieselgate scandal, it will be on the wings of electric vehicles. Having hitherto largely ignored the electrified market in favour of fuel-sipping but nitrogen-oxide-spewing diesels, Europe’s largest automaker is now promising that it will sell one million EVs a year by 2025.
The first of this new fleet of emission-free wonders will be the I.D. Golf-like in appearance and size, the I.D.’s 168 horsepower promise hot hatch performance while its 400-to-600-kilometre range — depending on the size of it scalable battery — offers Tesla-like convenience. Slated for production in 2020, the I.D.’s innovation is not limited to its electric propulsion. It also offers a first glimpse of Volkswagen’s vision of a fully autonomous future with an entirely new interior “spatial experience.” Among other breakthroughs, “Open Space” puts the steering wheel retract into the dashboard when operating in fully-automated “I.D. Pilot” mode.
The rest of the Volkswagen Group is also converting to lithium-ion, with Porsche promising a Tesla Model S-like Mission E by 2020 with 600 horsepower, all-wheel-drive and the ability to blast to 100 kilometres an hour in less than 3.5 seconds. And, putting further emphasis on the Tesla comparisons, Porsche is also rumoured to be developing a smaller Model 3 competitor.
Not to be left out of the party, Audi is pushing its e-tron Quattro concept. No less than three electric motors — one on the front axle, one each for the rear wheels — combine for 590 pound-feet of torque while a 95 kilowatt-hour battery allows 500 kilometres between recharges.
In all, the Volkswagen Group is promising no less than 30 electric and plug-in models by 2025. The demise of diesel may yet breathe new life into electric cars.
Volkswagen Groupispromising nolessthan 30electric and plug-inmodels