Volkswagen is embarking on its journey to the future at the Paris Motor Show with the world premiere of the visionary I.D.: I.D. is a highly automated electric car that will cover a distance of 400 to 600 kilometres on a single battery charge.
The production version of the I.D. is due to be launched in 2020 at a price on a par with comparably powerful and well-equipped Golf, but Volkswagen is looking even further ahead with this concept car: in “I.D. Pilot” mode, the electric car is capable of fully automated driving – this technology should be ready for series production in 2025. Volkswagen has also set itself the goal of selling a million electric cars a year by 2025; the production version of the I.D. will make a decisive contribution towards this in the ramp-up of e-mobility.
The fact is that the I.D. combines the digitally connected world with electric drive, if required, and heralds a new era of fully automated driving. Analogously, this resulted in a visionary design for the electric cars of the future. It puts the spotlight on the individual: it is positive, honest, and fascinating to look at. Volkswagen has made electric and fully automated driving – the factors that will change everything about mobility – conspicuous with its innovative design language, in the interior, too, where the ambience of the conventional driving environment has been transformed into the interactive centre of a mobile lounge – a supremely versatile Open Space.
The spaciousness of this area and the intuitive, clear functionality allow you to experience mobility in a completely new way.
For Volkswagen, the world premiere of the iconic I.D. in Paris – with its iconic, fresh design – marks a watershed. This car is as revolutionary as the Beetle was seven decades ago and the first Golf was 40 years ago – which went on to become two of the world’s most successful cars of all time. The I.D. has the potential to make history, too. It has been designed to be a compact all-rounder that will help to make electric cars the ‘everyday’ choice, with its impressive electric range and an attractive price. A car in which the driver can activate the fully automated mode “I.D. Pilot” just by touching the Volkswagen logo on the steering wheel. With this, the electrically adjustable and retractable steering wheel disappears into the dashpad to form a single entity flush with the dashboard, boosting the lounge feeling in fully automated mode of the Open Space concept – the all new interior layout of the I.D., because the architecture of the drivetrain with an electric motor on the rear axle, and a high-voltage battery in the floor of the vehicle, liberates more space, more light, greater flexibility and more freedom than was ever possible in a car with a length of slightly over 4 metres. The I.D. is positioned as a compact electric car with which Volkswagen aims to expand its range of high-volume models in parallel to existing global best sellers such as the Polo, Golf, Tiguan and Passat.
