Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen made good on its promises to bring another Microbus concept at the CES 2016 tradeshow.
The exhibited vehicle is still a concept car and is called the Budd-e. Along with the smaller body, the concept car is built on a new platform called the Modular Electronic Toolkit.
So Volkswagen brought two major surprises to the CES Show in a single vehicle: a smaller Microbus concept and a new platform. Since the German company invested so much in the MQB platform, using an entirely new technical base is a surprise, but the Modular Electronic Toolkit was developed specifically for plug-in vehicles. However, the MQB platform supports plug-in vehicles just as well.
The Budd-e Concept comes with yet another surprise: the car has a quick charge feature for its 101 kWh battery pack, capable of charging 80% of capacity in just 15 minutes from a specialized charger. This is a huge breakthrough in the world of electric cars because it’s significantly faster than other electric battery charging systems available on the market, and it also has a generous capacity.
However, the Budd-e isn’t for sale just yet, so let’s not praise Volkswagen for this too much, because this technology is a few years away from production, if it ever gets there in this form. Some say it will inspire a production model set for launch in 2017, but there’s no official word on this yet.
The vehicle’s battery is fitted across its floor and powers the two electric motors, one for each axle. This makes the Budd-e an all-wheel drive vehicle that is also capable of reaching a speed of 93 MPH (149 km/h). The vehicle’s all-electric range is of 373 miles (600 km) in the New European Standard Driving Cycle.
Since it has been showcased at CES 2016, the Budd-e Concept also features smart technologies, as expected of an electric vehicle concept. Volkswagen’s new concept car can also be used as a dedicated auxiliary power unit for a house and can communicate wirelessly with a smart home or a smart office. Most of us don’t have any of those yet, so the benefits of this ability are intangible for now.
The interior has a modern layout made with touchscreen displays instead of analog buttons, switches or dials. Passengers can also open doors without pulling the classic handles and some controls can be used by gestures alone, the vehicle being fitted with an advanced gesture control system.
From a design point of view, the car tries to bind a retro shape with some of the features from the Microbus in a modern form and a smaller package. Thanks to a set of high-res video cameras, the side mirrors are no longer necessary, and the doors are electrically operated, so there’s no need for handles. If one were to take away the Volkswagen badges from this car, you’d have to be a connoisseur to recognize the brand that made it.
So Volkswagen brought two major surprises to the CES Show in a single vehicle: a smaller Microbus concept and a new platform. Since the German company invested so much in the MQB platform, using an entirely new technical base is a surprise, but the Modular Electronic Toolkit was developed specifically for plug-in vehicles. However, the MQB platform supports plug-in vehicles just as well.
The Budd-e Concept comes with yet another surprise: the car has a quick charge feature for its 101 kWh battery pack, capable of charging 80% of capacity in just 15 minutes from a specialized charger. This is a huge breakthrough in the world of electric cars because it’s significantly faster than other electric battery charging systems available on the market, and it also has a generous capacity.
However, the Budd-e isn’t for sale just yet, so let’s not praise Volkswagen for this too much, because this technology is a few years away from production, if it ever gets there in this form. Some say it will inspire a production model set for launch in 2017, but there’s no official word on this yet.
The vehicle’s battery is fitted across its floor and powers the two electric motors, one for each axle. This makes the Budd-e an all-wheel drive vehicle that is also capable of reaching a speed of 93 MPH (149 km/h). The vehicle’s all-electric range is of 373 miles (600 km) in the New European Standard Driving Cycle.
Since it has been showcased at CES 2016, the Budd-e Concept also features smart technologies, as expected of an electric vehicle concept. Volkswagen’s new concept car can also be used as a dedicated auxiliary power unit for a house and can communicate wirelessly with a smart home or a smart office. Most of us don’t have any of those yet, so the benefits of this ability are intangible for now.
The interior has a modern layout made with touchscreen displays instead of analog buttons, switches or dials. Passengers can also open doors without pulling the classic handles and some controls can be used by gestures alone, the vehicle being fitted with an advanced gesture control system.
From a design point of view, the car tries to bind a retro shape with some of the features from the Microbus in a modern form and a smaller package. Thanks to a set of high-res video cameras, the side mirrors are no longer necessary, and the doors are electrically operated, so there’s no need for handles. If one were to take away the Volkswagen badges from this car, you’d have to be a connoisseur to recognize the brand that made it.
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