Photo: Volkswagen
In the past, people have often quoted design as one of the prohibiting factors from making the jump to electric vehicles, and looking at the first-gen Nissan LEAF or even the Renault ZOE, it's easy to understand why.
After the polarizing i3, BMW has decided to go down a different path that's quite original in its lack of originality: the Bavarians won't develop a separate range of electric vehicles, but offer the battery-power option for some - if not all - of its future regular models instead. In other words, you won't be able to tell whether a 3 Series burns gas, diesel or nothing at all until you're close enough to read the inscription or hear its engine (or lack thereof).
Most of the other manufacturers, however, have opted to draw a pretty clear separation line between the two business, making it easy to kill one of them in the future should things oscillate one way or the other. The first two that come to mind are Mercedes-Benz with the EQ range and Volkswagen's ID sub-brand.
The latter has already shown a few concepts - three, to be more precise - that give us an idea of where the carmaker is headed with the design for its new brand, but we haven't really seen any production-ready models so far. Klaus Bischoff, Volkswagen's chief of design, says the vehicles following the three concepts shown so far will show a different approach.
To make things more palpable without giving up too much, he made a parallel to Apple's design ethos, saying VW's models would somehow replicate that. What he means is that we should expect the same level of purity, clarity, and significance as seen in the minimalist method employed by the products of the Cupertino-based company.
Bischoff also expressed his excitement of being involved with Volkswagen in this day and age. While the freedom in his work has been very limited so far, he now has the chance of giving a whole new range of products their own identity: "We are currently redefining the Volkswagen values for the age of electrification," he said, via the Drive.
Most of the other manufacturers, however, have opted to draw a pretty clear separation line between the two business, making it easy to kill one of them in the future should things oscillate one way or the other. The first two that come to mind are Mercedes-Benz with the EQ range and Volkswagen's ID sub-brand.
The latter has already shown a few concepts - three, to be more precise - that give us an idea of where the carmaker is headed with the design for its new brand, but we haven't really seen any production-ready models so far. Klaus Bischoff, Volkswagen's chief of design, says the vehicles following the three concepts shown so far will show a different approach.
To make things more palpable without giving up too much, he made a parallel to Apple's design ethos, saying VW's models would somehow replicate that. What he means is that we should expect the same level of purity, clarity, and significance as seen in the minimalist method employed by the products of the Cupertino-based company.
Bischoff also expressed his excitement of being involved with Volkswagen in this day and age. While the freedom in his work has been very limited so far, he now has the chance of giving a whole new range of products their own identity: "We are currently redefining the Volkswagen values for the age of electrification," he said, via the Drive.
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