Photo: CarPix
Volkswagen may have changed leadership and strategy, but it has kept the overall direction regarding the EV push. This has become obvious as the German carmaker announced a mysterious member of its all-electric family, scheduled to debut on January 2023 at CES. Rumor has it that the new ID. model is the ID.7, a mid-size sedan set to debut as a 2024 model.
Volkswagen ousted former CEO Herbert Diess, citing unrealistic EV goals. The new CEO, Oliver Blume, scrapped the plans for a new factory in Wolfsburg and delayed the most ambitious EV projects. Instead, Volkswagen will focus on existing MEB architecture and bringing new vehicles to market with features well within reach. As such, there are no immediate plans for autonomous cars, and Project Artemis is also delayed until at least 2028.
The situation is different for vehicles planned to launch on the MEB architecture. Since Blume wants the MEB platform to remain in production longer than expected, it will gain more capabilities as the revamped MEB+. The ID. range of electric vehicles, built using the MEB underpinnings, is set to expand in accordance with the plans laid out by the previous CEO, Herbert Diess.
The most anticipated member of the ID. family is the production version of the ID. Aero concept. This was expected to launch in early 2023, but delays are expected, and it will probably come to market at the end of next year at the earliest. Rumored to be called ID.7, the mid-size sedan will eventually retire the Passat or at least its internal combustion engine. This is based on Blume hinting he might keep the Golf and Tiguan names for the EVs replacing them instead of using the ID. moniker.
Considering this, we’re no longer sure about the ID.7 name, as Volkswagen might call it e-Passat, or Passat EV. To further fuel the speculations, Volkswagen doesn’t use the ID. family name in the press release, preferring the “all-electric family” instead. We have less than a week to speculate on its name because Volkswagen will reveal it on January 3 during CES 2023. Not only that, but a camouflaged version of the new electric vehicle will also be displayed at the Volkswagen booth outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.
If it’s the ID.7 that Volkswagen is talking about, we already have a good image of what the next electric sedan will look like. Based on the ID. Aero specifications we expect the ID.7 to deliver up to 275 horsepower with a single rear-mounted motor or 335 horsepower with dual motors in the AWD setup. The 77-kWh battery should be enough for a 620-km (385-mile) range following the more optimistic European WLTP cycle. Expect around 320 miles (515 km) EPA range in the U.S., which is still respectable.
The situation is different for vehicles planned to launch on the MEB architecture. Since Blume wants the MEB platform to remain in production longer than expected, it will gain more capabilities as the revamped MEB+. The ID. range of electric vehicles, built using the MEB underpinnings, is set to expand in accordance with the plans laid out by the previous CEO, Herbert Diess.
The most anticipated member of the ID. family is the production version of the ID. Aero concept. This was expected to launch in early 2023, but delays are expected, and it will probably come to market at the end of next year at the earliest. Rumored to be called ID.7, the mid-size sedan will eventually retire the Passat or at least its internal combustion engine. This is based on Blume hinting he might keep the Golf and Tiguan names for the EVs replacing them instead of using the ID. moniker.
Considering this, we’re no longer sure about the ID.7 name, as Volkswagen might call it e-Passat, or Passat EV. To further fuel the speculations, Volkswagen doesn’t use the ID. family name in the press release, preferring the “all-electric family” instead. We have less than a week to speculate on its name because Volkswagen will reveal it on January 3 during CES 2023. Not only that, but a camouflaged version of the new electric vehicle will also be displayed at the Volkswagen booth outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.
If it’s the ID.7 that Volkswagen is talking about, we already have a good image of what the next electric sedan will look like. Based on the ID. Aero specifications we expect the ID.7 to deliver up to 275 horsepower with a single rear-mounted motor or 335 horsepower with dual motors in the AWD setup. The 77-kWh battery should be enough for a 620-km (385-mile) range following the more optimistic European WLTP cycle. Expect around 320 miles (515 km) EPA range in the U.S., which is still respectable.
Google News