VW teases new electric car in first sketches

Meet VW's latest concept car. Well, some drawings of it. It’s an all-electric ‘design study,’ set to influence the looks of future Volkswagen models, while giving us an idea of how important electrification will be to them.

It may be mere sketches for now, but its wheels mark it out as a concept car, likewise the wide arches and sliding rear doors. Those blue accents hint at its electric propulsion, something VW is going big on in the wake of the diesel scandal, which has rocked the company during the last 12 months.

We don’t know any concrete statistics just yet, but previous reports have suggested that the next generation of VAG electric vehicles should be able to manage between 250-300 miles on a single charge, and a full charge may take as little as 15 minutes or so. Time will tell if those ambitious statistics are achievable; if electric cars really can be charged in the time it takes to stop for coffee, it seems safe to assume a lot of infrastructure needs upgrading before such numbers become reality.

It will provide as much interior space as the much bigger Passat in a car the size of a Golf, we’re told. VW goes a bit further, saying the new vehicle is “as revolutionary as the Beetle was seven decades ago.” 

It’s thought that the design and range claims should surface in road car form sometime around 2019. Like the look of what you see so far?

Words: Ben Custard