Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) event on Reddit and it was a wide-ranging discussion that covered a number of different topics.
Among the items discussed was the possibility of an electric Beetle revival. Diess said the most emotional vehicle in Volkswagen’s history is “definitely the micro bus,” so his “first priority” was creating the ID.Buzz which will be unveiled next month. However, he admitted “many other emotional cars are possible on our scalable MEB platform.”
Also Read: VW Has No Plans For A Compact Pickup To Rival The Maverick And Santa Cruz
More interestingly, Diess was asked “Will there be an electric pickup truck like the Ford F-150 Lightning for the USA?” Diess was non-committal as he simply replied “Good idea!”
While it remains to be seen if Volkswagen is seriously considering an electric pickup for the United States, the company has showcased a couple of concepts over the past few years. The Atlas Tanoak concept debuted at the 2018 New York Auto Show and was followed by the Tarok concept, which was shown at the 2019 New York Auto Show to “gauge market reaction.”
Sticking with the electric vehicle theme, Diess reiterated the company is “working on electric cars around 20k euros for entry segments.” Of course, this isn’t really news as Volkswagen unveiled the ID.Life concept at the 2021 Munich Motor Show and noted it “provides a preview of an ID. model in the small car segment that we will be launching in 2025, priced at around 20,000 euros.”
The executive also confirmed versions of the ID.Vizzion concepts are coming and seemingly left the door open to North American availability. Spy photographers have snapped the sedan variant on multiple occasions and it’s slated to be unveiled next year.
It won’t be the only electric sedan from the Volkswagen Group as Diess said they are “working on premium electric limousines” and hinted fans should “watch Audi & Bentley.” Audi already offers the e-tron GT and previously noted last year’s A6 e-tron concept was the “forerunner of an innovative family of fully electric, production cars.” Bentley, on the other hand, will introduce five electric vehicles in five years, starting in 2025, and it’s natural to assume we can expect an electric successor to the Flying Spur.
Diess also confirmed a Plug & Charge capability is coming to the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 as well as earlier models thanks to an over-the-air update. This promises to streamline the charging experience as owners won’t have to fiddle around with credit cards or accounts when they want to use a compatible charging station.
The executive also confirmed diesels are “definitely not” coming back to the United States, while the ID.3 Cabriolet that was teased last year may have been shelved as Diess is “working on a new idea.” In other news, he said “I don’t think that Skoda will come to the US” and there are no plans for the brand to be introduced stateside.
Lastly, one of the more interesting questions was what Diess expects cars to be like in 25 years. While he noted this is very difficult to predict given rapidly changing technology, he said “All cars will be able to drive autonomously, very safe, probably no accidents at all anymore.”
