VOLKSWAGGER!
SHANGHAI — To say that world-leading carmaker Volkswagen plans an extensive model offensive in China is an understatement. It unveiled no less than five new SUV’s at the ongoing Auto Shanghai, the biggest automotive trade show in the biggest car market in the world. Four of those five SUVs were world debuts.
The German brand has announced plans to launch a staggering eight new SUVs in China this year alone—part of its plans to effectively double its SUV range in that market by 2020.
Volkswagen announced at the show that the share of SUVs is expected to rise to up to 40 percent. It is targeting the traditional internal combustion segment as well as the growing e-mobility sector.
The Volkswagen brand presented five new SUVs, led by the stunning ID. ROOMZZ electric SUV concept. SAIC Volkswagen unveiled the T-Cross and the Teramont X while FAW-VW showed off the SUV Coupé Concept and SMV Concept.
Volkswagen is entering the second year of its Move Forward brand initiative in China, which aims to reinvent itself by becoming more adventurous with the design and body styles of its cars, while bringing exciting technology and a choice of new energy vehicles.
World debut: ID. ROOMZZ
Volkswagen plans to introduce in China a range of new electric vehicles—the ID. family—from 2021. It starts with the introduction of a flagship SUV, the ID. ROOMZZ, which should roll off VW showroom floors in two years. The three-row-seating vehicle architecture, with the battery pack in the vehicle floor, results in abundant interior space, allowing for completely new seating configurations and turning the purely electric SUV into a zero-emissions lounge on wheels.
The ID. ROOMZZ also allows a glimpse at an autonomous driving future. When on ID. Pilot mode, the car can drive autonomously without an active driver.
The completely new variable interior concept can be individualized to a great extent. Various seating configurations can be adapted not only to passengers’ personal wishes, but also to the respective driving mode.
When the driver switches to fully automatic driving mode, the individual seats can be rotated inward by 25 degrees to create a lounge-like atmosphere on board. When the car is driving fully automatically, the ID. Pilot Relax mode allows each passenger to adjust their seat individually to suit their needs. In this mode, the seat can be moved from an upright to a reclined position.
The ID. ROOMZZ is not fitted with a conventional dash panel. In the manual “ID. Drive” mode, the digital cockpit along with the steering wheel appears to hover in front of the driver. The digital cockpit consists of a full glass- front panel. The digitalized steering wheel has been conceptually integrated into the panel.
The materials used in the interior are also unusual. The seat covers are made of AppleSkin – a new product that consists of a renewable raw material. Specially processed wooden veneers are also used in the “ID. Light” areas of the door panels. The CleanAir system uses an active filter system to ensure that the air in the vehicle interior remains clean even if the ambient air isn’t.
With its 82kWh battery, the ID. ROOMZZ boasts a range of up to 475 km before the battery has to be recharged. In about half an hour, the car can be recharged to 80 percent of its capacity via a fast-charging system.
Two electric motors can continuously drive both axles with a system output of 306ps (electric 4MOTION). The ID. ROOMZZ can accelerate to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds and reach top speeds of up to an electronically limited 180 km/h.
World debut: Teramont X
SAIC Volkswagen’s full-size Teramont X will be launched early summer in China. It offers customers a tough, five-seater version of the extremely successful regular Teramont, with sporty fastback styling. The Teramont and Teramont X would appeal to the SUV-crazy Philippine market.
China debut: T-Cross
New models like the T-Cross show how fast the Volkswagen brand is moving forward, addressing new, aspiring lifestyles and target groups characterized by a burgeoning swatch of the affluent Chinese market. Like the Teramonts, the VW T-Cross should likewise have a strong market in the Philippines.
World debut: SUV Coupé Concept
Having recently fired up its SUV program with the successful T-ROC and Tayron, the SUV Coupé Concept will be FAW-Volkswagen’s first coupé-style SUV, combining avant-garde design, sporty proportions and outstanding performance.
World debut: SMV Concept
The SMV Concept is a large SUV measuring over 5.1 meters and a wheelbase close to 3,000mm. It will be a true flagship and the most prestigious car for FAW-Volkswagen.
China plays key role in Volkswagen’s Global E-Mobility Strategy
China will play a key role in the Volkswagen group’s global transformation and its accompanying decarbonization program. Thus, this year will see an intensified rollout of new energy models. VW China aims to produce 11.6 million BEVs by 2028—more than half of the group’s global objective of 22 million BEVs by that year.
VW will be offering no less than 14 NEV models in China this year. Initiatives with all three Chinese vehicle production joint ventures – FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen and JAC Volkswagen – will enable this target to be reached.
With construction progressing on MEB platforms at SAIC Volkswagen in Anting and FAW- Volkswagen in Foshan, the company will have the technical capacity to produce an additional 600,000 pure electric vehicles a year in China when the two plants become operational next year.
To speed up its e-offensive, it will also launch a new joint venture in charging infrastructure. All this will lay the foundation for wide acceptance of e-mobility. Meanwhile, in the area of future technologies, Volkswagen Group China is combining its research power, with Volkswagen brand, Audi and Group R&D working together within the new ONE R&D structure.
Meanwhile, current customer demands for the latest advances in connectivity, efficiency, safety and comfort will be met with a strong portfolio of new models being released in China this year across all the Group’s brands, including a further eight SUV models – five of them locally produced.
