Skip to main content

Report: The VW Microbus to Return, Appeal to Hippies as EV

Details about the second vehicle in Volkswagen’s upcoming fleet of battery electric vehicles are slowly taking shape, and it looks like it will be a seven-passenger van based on the company’s historic microbus.

1958-Volkswagen-Deluxe-Microbus_269863_low_res

The second electric vehicle—call it the Electric Type 2, for simplicity’s sake—will share the MEB platform that underpins VW’s ID concept. That concept, which premiered at the Paris Auto Show, is the first car confirmed for the MEB platform.

Like the ID, the Electric Type 2, will power the rear wheels from an engine placed between those same wheels. Energy will come from flat batteries housed under the body.

DB2016AL01902

The Electric Type 2, though, will be longer and wider than the ID to fit its seven passengers, and thus will be able to store more batteries. According to a report from Autocar, it will have a range of up to 500 km (310 miles).

Despite being bigger than the ID, the new microbus is rumored to be more than 15 inches smaller (from the outside) than the current Multivan. At 4,900 mm (193 inches), it’s only about 4 inches longer than the current Passat.

VW-ID-Concept-1

That jives with what VW has been saying about the MEB platform. Thanks to its layout—rear-engine with flat batteries—there’s more room inside for passengers, much like the original, air cooled VWs.

Just what it will look like remains to be seen, but Autocar reports that it will feature many microbus-like cues. That’s to say that it will have a vertical windshield, a bluff front, a straight back, and a curbside sliding door.

The Electric Type 2 would be the second of five EVs that VW has promised as the initial vehicles in its electric onslaught. As a result, it would be endowed with all of the companies latest infotainment and autonomous driving functions.

[source: Autocar]

The post Report: The VW Microbus to Return, Appeal to Hippies as EV appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2hvTUFF
via IFTTT

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Mitsubishi , Fuel Efficiency , Japan Mitsubishi says its shady fuel-economy test practices may have been used on all vehicles it sells and has sold in Japan. Continue reading Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2016 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/21X3bHv
Post a Comment
Read more

More 3.0-Liter TDI Settlement Details Expected by January 31

Volkswagen and the TDI Plaintiff’s Steering Committee were in court today for another status conference following the agreement in principal reached earlier this week. Little new information was given at the conference held before Judge Charles Breyer today, but the court ordered the parties to develop a formal settlement agreement, class action notices, and a class notice plan by January 31, 2017. For now, though, owners still don’t know how much to expect in compensation. Elizabeth Cabraser, lead Counsel for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee reaffirmed in a statement today that the compensation would be “substantial.” The potential cost to Volkswagen is widely reported to exceed $1 billion, though, with an additional $225 million going into an environmental trust to help offset excess emissions. Buy back offers are still only expected for the oldest 20,000 of the roughly 80,000 VW Group vehicles sold in America with the 3.0-liter TDI engine. Those vehicles are mostly SUVs, like ...
Post a Comment
Read more