Volkswagen Budd-e: MPV concept previews brand's electric future

The Microbus successor boasts a brace of electric motors, 302bhp and 361lb ft of torque, plus a 331-mile battery range

Its appearance and proportions preview an all-wheel-drive MPV that’s due in 2018

Volkswagen’s Budd-e concept is an all-electric MPV that shows off the brand’s new EV architecture slated to underpin future electric models across the VW Group.

Unveiled this week at America’s Consumer Electronics Show, and boasting a brace of electric motors, 302bhp and 361lb ft of torque, plus a 331-mile battery range, the Microbus successor shows off the new platform in style. Its appearance and proportions preview an all-wheel-drive MPV that’s due in 2018, while its chassis will also be used for a Phaeton successor as well as Porsche’s Mission E and Audi’s e-tron quattro.

The platform, which was designed specifically for EVs, carries the heaviest components such as the battery pack low down and within its axles lines. The Budd-e can be recharged either by cable or inductively, and is claimed to receive 80 per cent more charge after half an hour than the e-Golf.

The car was unveiled at America’s Consumer Electronics Show

Meanwhile, the e-Golf Touch concept was also unveiled at the Las Vegas event, previewing the VW Group’s forthcoming multimedia systems with a large touch interface, bespoke menus, advanced phone integration plus state-of-the-art voice and gesture controls.

VW views its electric vehicle programme as imperative to regaining consumers’ trust

VW views its electric vehicle programme as imperative to regaining consumers’ trust after last year’s notorious emissions scandal. “We want to create a new experience of mobility,” said passenger-car CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. “The future belongs to cars that make everyone happy.”