VW Microbus-styled minivan to use new electric platform

The Volkswagen BUDD-e concept will see production in the near future, the UK's Car magazine reports.

The electric minivan made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show last month and presented VW's vision of what a vehicle with the automaker's Modular Electric platform could offer. The BUDD-e is styled VW's 2011 Microbus concept.

Volkswagen made no secret of its intention to put the new electric platform to use, hinting that it would "enable a series production car to have pure electric range on par with today’s gasoline-powered cars by the end of the decade," but stopped short of promising a specific model.

In concept form the BUDD-e houses a 101-kWh battery that takes up almost the entire base of the chassis, with the automaker claiming a range of 533km (332 miles) in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).

The Transporter panel van and its passenger version would continue with internal combustion engines, stating that the MEB platform would not displace gas and diesel-engined van platforms entirely. That's a prudent development, as the production version of the BUDD-e would still be a niche vehicle even when it does go on sale.

Source: http://europe.autonews.com/

05.02.2016