Photo: Catalin Garmacea
A while back we were telling you that the Volkswagen Group made a rather controversial decision to continue the development of the new Phaeton model and yet drop the successor of the Bugatti Veyron, even though the latter is close to being finished.
Well, it seems like there was a reason behind this decision, one that we missed back then: the upcoming Volkswagen Phaeton will be an electric vehicle. That’s right, a full-size EV!
The news comes in the form of a press release from Volkswagen’s new Board of Management, which had a meeting and took some rather tough decisions to keep the brand afloat. The CEO, Dr. Herbert Diess, announced that there will also be a reorientation of the diesel strategy to make sure the cars in production use the most advanced technologies possible.
It all sounds like marketing talk (and we’re sure it is, to some degree) but something has to be done, especially considering how popular diesel models are.
“The Volkswagen brand is repositioning itself for the future. We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency program,” said Dr. Herbert Diess.
On top of that, the MQB platform will be developed even further, to support the creation of more plug-in hybrids with an even longer range compared to what we have on offer today. Volume models will receive new hybrid tech as well, and VW wants to provide them with a range of at least 300 kilometers (186 miles), partly thanks to a 48-volt power supply system.
Both passenger and light commercial vehicles will be built atop a new MEB electric platform, which is supposed to be modular and allow the creation of cars with an all-electric range of anything between 250-500 kilometers (155 to 310 miles).
One of the cars that will be based on this new platform will be the new Phaeton, the less than popular model of the Vee Dub brand. The car was already in development but in light of the new developments, it is now being reshaped and rethought.
It will be interesting to see, though, how the company will handle all of these changes, since they also claim that investments will be reduced by €1 billion per year. Furthermore, a huge fine and costs for fixing the cars equipped with the cheating software that started the whole dieselgate scandal might put a serious strain on the funds available in Wolfsburg.
The news comes in the form of a press release from Volkswagen’s new Board of Management, which had a meeting and took some rather tough decisions to keep the brand afloat. The CEO, Dr. Herbert Diess, announced that there will also be a reorientation of the diesel strategy to make sure the cars in production use the most advanced technologies possible.
It all sounds like marketing talk (and we’re sure it is, to some degree) but something has to be done, especially considering how popular diesel models are.
“The Volkswagen brand is repositioning itself for the future. We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus, and we are creating room for forward-looking technologies by speeding up the efficiency program,” said Dr. Herbert Diess.
AdBlue Technology to be added to diesel engined cars, more plug-in hybrids in the works
It seems like the solution to the dieselgate scandal will come in the shape of AdBlue. The wonder-fluid will be used on all Volkswagen diesels in the future, both in Europe and North America, and the Germans want to implement the technology as soon as possible.On top of that, the MQB platform will be developed even further, to support the creation of more plug-in hybrids with an even longer range compared to what we have on offer today. Volume models will receive new hybrid tech as well, and VW wants to provide them with a range of at least 300 kilometers (186 miles), partly thanks to a 48-volt power supply system.
Both passenger and light commercial vehicles will be built atop a new MEB electric platform, which is supposed to be modular and allow the creation of cars with an all-electric range of anything between 250-500 kilometers (155 to 310 miles).
One of the cars that will be based on this new platform will be the new Phaeton, the less than popular model of the Vee Dub brand. The car was already in development but in light of the new developments, it is now being reshaped and rethought.
It will be interesting to see, though, how the company will handle all of these changes, since they also claim that investments will be reduced by €1 billion per year. Furthermore, a huge fine and costs for fixing the cars equipped with the cheating software that started the whole dieselgate scandal might put a serious strain on the funds available in Wolfsburg.
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