This is our first glimpse at VW’s ‘revolutionary’ new concept car bound for the Paris Motor Show at the end of the month. The teaser pictures indicate that the concept will be a Golf-sized hatchback and could preview a future rival for the BMW i3. VW confirmed that the production car it previews will be the first based on the brand’s new modular MEB platform.
The images don’t give too much away, but show several all-new design features such as the digital headlamps and two-tone exterior finish. There are no images of the interior but VW bosses have previously stated that the new MEB platform (designed exclusively for electric vehicles) creates an extra 240mm of interior passenger space over an equivalent hatchback with an internal combustion engine.
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VW claims that the concept will be as “revolutionary as the Beetle was seven decades ago” and “has the potential to make history.” We already know VW is targeting a range of at least 250 miles, but the German manufacturer also has the potential to increase that scalable range up to 372 miles.
Production of VW’s range of new EVs will begin in 2019, with the first model going on sale the following year. VW accelerated its electric vehicle programme, dubbed Strategy 2025, in light of the diesel emissions scandal which broke this time last year. Volkswagen itself aims to be building up to one million EVs by the middle of the next decade.
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Other brands within the VW Group such as SEAT, Skoda and Audi will also have access to the new MEB architecture. The Group as a whole aims to be producing up to three million electric vehicles in the same time frame, which will be around a quarter of the Group’s overall production volume. More than 30 new EVs are planned within the next 10 years.
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