Volkswagen Budd-e: MPV concept previews brand's electric future
The Microbus successor boasts a brace of electric motors, 302bhp and 361lb ft of torque, plus a 331-mile battery range
Volkswagen’s Budd-e concept is an all-electric MPV that shows off the brand’s new EV architecture slated to underpin future electric models across the VW Group.
Unveiled this week at America’s Consumer Electronics Show, and boasting a brace of electric motors, 302bhp and 361lb ft of torque, plus a 331-mile battery range, the Microbus successor shows off the new platform in style. Its appearance and proportions preview an all-wheel-drive MPV that’s due in 2018, while its chassis will also be used for a Phaeton successor as well as Porsche’s Mission E and Audi’s e-tron quattro.
The platform, which was designed specifically for EVs, carries the heaviest components such as the battery pack low down and within its axles lines. The Budd-e can be recharged either by cable or inductively, and is claimed to receive 80 per cent more charge after half an hour than the e-Golf.
Meanwhile, the e-Golf Touch concept was also unveiled at the Las Vegas event, previewing the VW Group’s forthcoming multimedia systems with a large touch interface, bespoke menus, advanced phone integration plus state-of-the-art voice and gesture controls.
VW views its electric vehicle programme as imperative to regaining consumers’ trust after last year’s notorious emissions scandal. “We want to create a new experience of mobility,” said passenger-car CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. “The future belongs to cars that make everyone happy.”
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