Volkswagen’s Paris-bound concept will put the EV segment on notice

By Ronan Glon Published September 16, 2016

Volkswagen has published a trio of teaser images that preview a new, all-electric concept car.

The yet-unnamed concept is instantly recognizable as a member of the Volkswagen lineup thanks to familiar styling cues such as sharp headlights and a thin grille, but it takes the company’s design language in a more futuristic direction. The emblem on the front fascia boasts LED lighting, and the door mirrors have been replaced with high-definition cameras. The new look will inspired every electric Volkswagen to help differentiate them from models powered by an internal combustion engine.

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Volkswagen recently revealed that its next show car is about the same size as a Golf, yet it offers roughly as much interior space as a Passat thanks to clever packaging. Notably, an electric motor takes up considerably less space than a three- or four-cylinder engine.

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volkswagen paris concept news teaser design range

We know that the concept will ride on a new modular electric platform called MEB that was inaugurated earlier this year by the retro-inspired Budd-e concept. Designed specifically to underpin electric vehicles, the platform features a totally flat battery pack that occupies almost all the space between the front and rear axle.

Additional technical specifications won’t be announced until the concept is presented. However, a slide from a presentation reveals that cars built on the MEB platform will be capable of driving anywhere between 248 and 372 miles on a single charge. That 248 figure is likely what we can expect from smaller vehicles, while 372 will only be achieved by bigger cars such as full-size sedans and crossovers capable of carrying a larger battery pack.

Read more: Volkswagen’s retro Beetle ups its styling game for 2017

Volkswagen’s next concept car will make its official debut during the Paris Auto Show in just a few short weeks. And while it’s billed as simply a design study, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based firm openly admits that the styling and the tech features will trickle down to a production model that’s set to launch either in 2018 or in 2019.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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It doesn't take a well-trained eye to tell that the ID.Buzz AD is autonomous. Its hardware suite is clearly visible: Argo AI's proprietary lidar is notably mounted on the van's roof, where it's perfectly positioned to scope out the road ahead. Bryan Salesky, Argo AI's founder and CEO, said the lidar can detect objects up to 1,300 feet away.

Building a van capable of driving itself in a controlled environment is relatively easy. Deploying it in real-life conditions, where it will encounter construction, dogs, and pedestrians, is far more difficult. Salesky warned that improvements in autonomous technology will be gradual -- there's not going to be a big boom -- but he pointed out that modernizing the infrastructure will play a significant role in helping driverless cars reduce traffic in big cities.

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If you’d been thinking of buying an Audi, now might be the time. The German brand, owned by the Volkswagen Group, has announced it would halt shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.
Audi is currently holding cars that arrived after the tariffs took effect, on April 3, in U.S. ports. But it still has around 37,000 vehicles in its U.S. inventory, which should be able to meet demand for about two months, according to Reuters.
Automakers on average hold enough cars to meet U.S. demand for about three months, according to Cox Automotive.
Audi should be particularly affected by the tariffs: The Q5, its best-selling model in the U.S., is produced in Mexico, while other models, such as the A3, A4, and A6 are produced in Germany.
Holding shipments is obviously a temporary measure to buy time for Audi and parent company Volkswagen. If tariffs stay in place, vehicle prices would likely have to go up accordingly, unless some production is shifted to the U.S. Volkswagen already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. That latter plant, however, isn’t expected to be operational until 2027 and is currently dedicated to building electric vehicles for VW’s Scout Motors brand.
Other global automakers have also taken drastic measures in response to Trump’s tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover on April 5 said it is pausing shipments of its its UK-made cars to the United States this month. The British sports-luxury vehicle maker noted that the U.S. market accounts for nearly a quarter of its global sales, led by the likes of Range Rover Sports, Defenders, and Jaguar F-PACE.
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