Volkswagen is embarking on its journey to the future at the Paris Motor Show with the world premiere of the visionary I.D.: I.D. is a highly automated electric car that will cover a distance of 400 to 600 kilometres on a single battery charge. The production version of the I.D. is due to be launched in 2020 at a price on a par with comparably powerful and well-equipped Golf, but Volkswagen is looking even further ahead with this concept car: in "I.D. Pilot" mode, the electric car is capable of fully automated driving – this technology should be ready for series production in 2025. Volkswagen has also set itself the goal of selling a million electric cars a year by 2025; the production version of the I.D. will make a decisive contribution towards this in the ramp-up of e-mobility.
The fact is that the I.D. combines the digitally connected world with electric drive, if required, and heralds a new era of fully automated driving. Analogously, this resulted in a visionary design for the electric cars of the future. It puts the spotlight on the individual: it is positive, honest, and fascinating to look at. Volkswagen has made electric and fully automated driving – the factors that will change everything about mobility – conspicuous with its innovative design language, in the interior, too, where the ambience of the conventional driving environment has been transformed into the interactive centre of a mobile lounge – a supremely versatile Open Space. The spaciousness of this area and the intuitive, clear functionality allow you to experience mobility in a completely new way.
The present and the future merge into one. The I.D. represents the world of "the day after tomorrow". But the latest generation of the e-Golf, with a zero-emission range of up to 300 kilometres and new gesture control, will be on the road "tomorrow". The world of "today" is also embodied in state-of-the-art Volkswagens like the new Tiguan, which has launched the digitisation of the car interior with its Active Info Display and head-up display. We thus see three eras represented at once with the Tiguan, the e-Golf and the I.D. concept car, which together point the way from the present to the future – here at the Volkswagen booth.
2020 and 2025 in a single car. The I.D. is the first vehicle to showcase Volkswagen's iconic new design language for compact electric vehicles. The clear, iconic exterior and interior design – which puts the spotlight on the individual in every respect as well as the zero-emission drive – together preview the year 2020. For absolute clarity: I.D. is, today, a concept car; but I.D. is coming. We can expect to see the I.D. on our roads within the next four years, and its fully automated driving capability gives us a glimpse of the year 2025. And so the I.D. is an automotive protagonist of the progressive, forward-looking Volkswagen brand strategy "Think New." This strategy is based on four central areas of innovation, which are also reflected in the new Volkswagen design approach for electric vehicles and, thus, in the I.D.:
- Smart Sustainability – Volkswagen is advancing the development of innovative high-volume electric cars;
- Automated Driving – Volkswagen is going to make cars even safer and more comfortable thanks to automated driving;
- Intuitive Usability – Volkswagen has put its focus on vehicles that are intuitive to operate and feature new display and control concepts;
- Connected Community – Volkswagen will interconnect humans, cars and the environment with a Volkswagen user identity, in future.