{"id":21973,"date":"2018-03-07T22:34:08","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T02:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=21973"},"modified":"2018-03-07T22:34:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T02:34:08","slug":"vw-unveils-electric-flagship-the-i-d-vizzion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/vw-unveils-electric-flagship-the-i-d-vizzion","title":{"rendered":"VW unveils electric flagship, the I.D. Vizzion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AUTO-SUI-GENEVA-SHOW\"<\/p>\n<\/div>

Volkswagen merged with authority into the electric car race this week with the I.D. Vizzion concept.<\/p>\n

Introduced at the Geneva auto show, the fully electric all-wheel drive hatchback sedan is more than just a concept. It will be VW\u2019s EV production flagship vehicle that will come to market by 2022. The 400-mile-plus range Vizzion stand atop VW\u2019s new I.D. EV brand that includes the I.D. Crozz SUV, throwback Buzz Microbus and compact vehicle concepts.<\/p>\n

While the Vizzion debuted in Geneva sans driver controls \u2014 a hint at VW\u2019s plans for the car in its autonomous product planning \u2014 the 2022 production model is aimed squarely at Tesla and other EV entries like\u00a0Volvo\u2019s Polestar 1<\/a>\u00a0and Jaguar\u2019s I-PACE. Indeed, with its big greenhouse and skateboard batteries-in-the-floor architecture, the I.D. Vizzion looks similar to the I-PACE (introduced last week in Graz, Austria) and Tesla Model 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be offering this model \u2014 by the latest in 2022 as the top sedan in the I.D. family with the innovative I.D. cockpit and a steering wheel,\u201d said Volkswagen CEO, Dr. Herbert Diess, in a statement.<\/p>\n

But the Vizzion intends to move beyond its competitors with a 111-kWh battery that is bigger than Tesla\u2019s current offerings in its top-line Model S and X models. The result is a gas-engine like 413-mile range (in the European mpg cycle).<\/p>\n

The I.D. Vizzion is part of VW\u2019s aggressive campaign to put its Dieselgate scandal in the rear-view mirror. The I.D. family promises 15 EVs on VW\u2019s new \u201cMEB\u201d skateboard architecture by 2025. VW is building vast battery-charger networks in the US and Europe and\u00a0promoting EV racing series like electric Global Rallycross (e-GRC) with VWs<\/a>\u00a0and Formula E for its luxury Audi brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are betting the farm on electric,\u201d Greg Lucia, director of experiential marketing at VW America, told The Detroit News last year. \u201cWe are making things differently now. Electric suits our product. And e-GRC is a great way to showcase it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The corporate shift to electrics is risky given the lack of consumer acceptance for EVs.<\/p>\n

Electrics and plug-in vehicles are\u00a0just over 1 percent of the European market<\/a>\u00a0where affordable, fuel-sipping diesels still reign. Sales in the U.S. are just as meager. But VW\u2019s move is a nod to the 180-degree turn that global governments have taken with respect to once-favored diesel-fired powerplants.<\/p>\n

Beholden to the Paris Climate Agreement, global governments from France to China are moving to phase out carbon-emitting engines in favor of electrics.<\/p>\n

The Geneva show was preceded\u00a0by buzz about Porsche\u2019s first battery-powered 911 sports car<\/a>. European automakers are trying to get ahead of government diktats that are far stricter than in the U.S. where the\u00a0federal government is reportedly moving away<\/a>\u00a0from strict mpg mandates.<\/p>\n

Automakers like VW and General Motors also hope that the EV transformation will dovetail with their plans for a future of self-driving cars and connected highways.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen\u2019s I.D. Vizzion, which showcases a dramatic new design language for the conservative brand, may be a fun-driving, low-slung EV in 2022. But the Geneva concept also foreshadows a pod that is a fully-autonomous, Level 5 (no driver controls at all) vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The I.D. Vizzion) shows that, even in the electric self-driving future, we will be using desirable, expressive and individual automobiles \u2014 and not just uniform tin boxes,\u201d said Diess of the 122-inch wheelbase vehicle with the external dimensions of a mid-size Passat sedan but the interior room of a full-size VW Phaeton.<\/p>\n

Free of steering wheel and pedals, the Vizzion concept boasts a roomy cabin for four that identifies its owner with a facial scan, then adjust the interior accordingly \u2014 seat depth, soundtrack, scents \u2014 and responds to voice commands and gesture controls for instructions.<\/p>\n

The car\u2019s sleek exterior includes high-definition Matrix lights in the grille that can, for example, project a crosswalk on the sidewalk to signal pedestrians that it is safe to cross in front of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Tesla\u2019s Model 4 3 also hints at this driverless future with its minimalist dashboard. With no instrument panel in front of the steering wheel, the wheel may be recessed into the dash when the drive wants to be ferried autonomously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volkswagen merged with authority into the electric car race this week with the I.D. Vizzion concept. Introduced at the Geneva auto show, the fully electric all-wheel drive hatchback sedan is more than just a concept. It will be VW\u2019s EV production flagship vehicle that will come to market by 2022. The 400-mile-plus range Vizzion stand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21974,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21973\/revisions\/21974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}