Volkswagen is gearing up for the 2016 Paris Motor Show in a big way. It’s arguable that, by seeing how this is shaping up, this will be the German automotive big-hitter’s most important motor show in quite a while.
We’re used to seeing production-ready vehicles as well as futuristic and/or wacky concepts make their appearance along the motor show circuit through each year, but Volkswagen is looking to give the world their first look at a totally new car that it plans to introduce over the coming years that - in their words - will be equally as or more iconic than the original Beetle was.
From what we know of this mystery revolutionary car, it will be a fully electric vehicle most likely powered exclusively by batteries that can provide the Golf-sized hatch with enough range to cover over 400km before depletion.
And, here’s the kicker, Volkswagen Group’s new CEO Matthias Mueller says that topping the high-capacity battery can take as little 15 minutes. That reverse leap in battery charge times has to potential to shift the whole industry toward VW’s favour if they actually deliver on that promise.
Volkswagen is aiming this new EV at the masses, too, which implies that the revolutionary quick-charging system (and the car itself) would be accessible by most potential buyers and not would not come at a restrictive price tag.
As evidenced by these sketches revealed by Volkswagen days ahead of its official unveil in Paris, we can see the car compact design that’s at once futuristic and current. It looks to be a four door hatch, but its rear doors open by sliding out while the two front doors open via a common vertical hinge.
The VW Group is touting this new car as a triumph in terms of real-world constraints as well, being constructed with existing construction methods and tooling, not requiring any additional cost-adding and manufacturing time factors that could otherwise impede a quick and easy rolllout.
Despite being occupying a very similar footprint with the current Volkswagen Golf, the lack of an internal combustion engine means that the interior space is more comparable in size to that of a Passat.
This is all part of a longer-term that Volkswagen’s new management has set in motion in the wake of the ‘dieselgate’ emissions falsifying scandal that broke in September 2015, leading to the Group looking for new ways to enable personal transportation without needing to rely on pollution-causing internal combustion engines.
By 2025, Volkswagen plans to be selling over a million fully electric vehicles annually, beginning with this small EV to spearhead the effort which will be followed up with several all-new production models in the same vein over the next few years.
For more on Volkswagen vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
