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Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept breaks cover
Small all-electric microbus revealed at CES boasts a large range, comes on an all new VW modular platform and can control your television
Volkswagen has revealed an all-new electric concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The BUDD-e microbus sits on a platform called the MEB (modularen elektrisch baukasten - modular electric drive kit), which is designed specifically for plug-in electric vehicles and will serve as the modular underpinnings for several new Volkswagen electric production cars in the near future.
The BUDD-e's MEB is used to pull off some clever packaging, such as the integration of the air-con and heating into the front of the vehicle for more cabin space as well as floor-mounted batteries.
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The microbus uses two electric motors – a 110kW one on the front axle and a 125kW motor on the rear – to give a combined power output of a little more than 300bhp and make it a four-wheel drive. It has a total range of 233 miles and is said to do 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 112mph.
It can be charged through a plug or wirelessly, reaching 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.
A lot of the BUDD-e is influenced by the similar-looking and similarly named Bulli concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, but it also has echoes in places of the original VW Type 2 Bus - the V-shaped design at the front, for example.
Top Gear says it "looks like a van that could only have come from VW", but mentions newer tweaks such as the LED lights running down the side of the vehicle and the ambient light-laden cabin.
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Inside, the BUDD-e is described by VW as a "mobile home". Most of the switchgear and dashboard associated with conventional cars is gone, replaced by a "floating tablet".
Auto Express says that a lot of focus on the vehicle is centred on the in-car technologies. Volkswagen has placed on emphasis on connected-car capabilities, coining the concept's ability to interact with the driver's home as the "internet of things". Home appliances and fittings such as lights, heating and televisions can be controlled from the car.
There are also gesture-control functions while mirrors have been shed in favour of cameras and sensors linked to multi-function displays. Autonomous features include a driverless parking system that Autocar understands to be on the way in 2017.
VW says the BUDD-e is part of their 2019 vision for electric mobility. It's the first car to be seen on the MEB platform and several other VW brands, , such as the Porsche Mission-E and Audi e-Tron Quattro, are touted to be launching new electric models by the end of the decade using the same setup.
