Ford could build its next Mustang-inspired electric car on Volkswagen bones
Ford is already thinking about how to keep the Mach-E's momentum going, and it's in the early stages of planning a follow-up model that will be cheaper and smaller. Company executives hinted the model will ride on Volkswagen's MEB platform, which will underpin dozens of models due out in the early 2020s.
Volkswagen’s friendly looking robot would autonomously charge electric cars
Once summoned via an app or the car's touchscreen, Volkswagen's friendly-looking robot knows exactly where the car in need of a charge is located. It autonomously tows a battery wagon to the parking spot, and wirelessly instructs the car to open its charging flap to start the charging process.
Volkswagen will deploy retrolicious autonomous vans during the 2022 World Cup
One of the coolest concept cars of the decade will come to life on the streets of Doha, Qatar, during the 2022 World Cup. Volkswagen will turn the ID Buzz concept into an autonomous shuttle that will carry up to four passengers at a time. Truck manufacturer Scania will contribute 10 driverless buses to the project.
It’s easy to forget, but even an average car is now packed with advanced tech
The 2020 Volkswagen Passat shows just how far automotive tech has come. The Passat doesn't push the boundaries of tech, but it still feels like a spaceship compared to its 1970s ancestor. Digital Trends drove a 2020 Passat back to back with a 1977 Volkswagen Dasher to highlight the evolution.
Volkswagen gave a classic 1972 Type 2 Microbus an electric upgrade
Volkswagen and EV West installed the powertrain from a 2017 e-Golf in a 1972 Microbus. This blend of old and new has more power than a stock Microbus, with the same range as a stock e-Golf. Volkswagen also offers an electric conversion kit for vintage Beetles in Germany.
Volkswagen to cease all non-electric motor sports programs
Volkswagen will be ceasing all motor sports ventures that incorporate an internal combustion engine, according to a statement released Friday. The move further underlines Volkswagen's commitment to electric vehicles (EVs), and comes as a surprise to the motor sports world.
Volkswagen found something fun to do with its Atlas Cross Sport family hauler
Despite having the word sport in its name, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport isn't a very sporty vehicle. But VW slapped its name on a Baja 1000 off-road racer anyway. The Atlas Cross Sport race truck was unveiled at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, and will race in the 2020 Baja 1000.
Too hip for a minivan? Check out VW’s all-electric ID.Space Vizzion concept
The Volkswagen ID.Space Vizzion is the latest in a series of electric concept cars from the company. It previews a potential production model with a 300-mile range. Volkswagen claims the ID.Space Vizzion's interior was made using only sustainable materials, and that the car is very aerodynamic.
Volkswagen CEO says ID.3 will be 40% cheaper to make than the e-Golf
Volkswagen has made changes to the way it is going to produce electric vehicles. Through design changes such as making the battery a part of the vehicles' structure and refitting factories for strictly EV construction, VW is looking to be the leader in EV sales worldwide.
Inside Volkswagen’s plan to finally bring affordable electric cars to the masses
Volkswagen is opening its first factory dedicated to electric car production, the first step toward a goal of selling 22 million electric cars worldwide by 2028. Digital Trends got a firsthand look at the factory building the Volkswagen ID.3, the automaker's first mass-market electric car.
Volkswagen breaks ground on U.S. electric car factory, production starts in 2022
Volkswagen plans to start making electric cars in the United States in 2022. The German automaker is expanding its current Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant to make that possible. Volkswagen will build a crossover based on the ID.Crozz concept at the Tennessee factory alongside internal-combustion models.
Volkswagen and HP want your next car to have 3D-printed parts
Volkswagen and HP are looking for ways to get 3D-printed metal parts into production cars. HP was able to print 10,000 scale models of the Volkswagen ID.3 electric car, proving its Metal Jet 3D printers can work at high capacity. Volkswagen wants to 3D print gearshift knobs and other small parts.
Volkswagen aims for value with its updated 2020 Passat sedan
The sedan segment in America is shrinking, but Volkswagen still believes in it. The German firm introduced the redesigned 2020 Passat with a new look, more tech, and a lower price to boot. With a base price of $23,915, Volkswagen is cutting the price of the Passat by about $1,300.
Sharp and tech-savvy, the Volkswagen Golf gets a full digital reboot
The new, eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf receives significant tech updates, and it wears a more mature design. It's permanently connected to the internet and it receives a new infotainment system with a smartphone-like interface. Volkswagen hasn't decided whether to sell the car in America, however.
VW’s electric ID.3 will talk to you using lights straight out of Knight Rider
Volkswagen wanted its ID.3 electric car to have more personality, so it equipped the hatchback with an LED strip that relays information to the driver. The ID.3 is the first in a family of Volkswagen electric cars based on the new MEB platform, but it's unclear if all cars will have the light feature.
Volkswagen’s dapper 2020 Cross Sport may make its big brother jealous
New for 2020, the Atlas Cross Sport is not just a shrunken Atlas. The two models share a lot under the sheet metal, but the Cross Sport inaugurates several tech features and wears its own design. The five-seater model will be built in Tennessee, and it's scheduled to arrive in showrooms in early 2020.
Volkswagen is willing to share its electric car tech with BMW and others
Volkswagen is willing to share EV tech destined for Audi and Porsche models with other automakers. This could help speed up the deployment of electric cars, an executive said. Volkswagen is planning dozens of all-electric models across multiple brands, all set to launch over the next few years.
DieselGate continues to haunt Volkswagen as massive class-action suit is filed
A case has been brought against Volkswagen in which 470,000 owners of the 2.0 liter TDI EA189 engine seek compensation due to the company's diesel emissions scandal. The scandal was uncovered in 2015 via a tip from researchers to the Environmental Protect Agency and the California Air Resources Board.
This auto shop class teaches high schoolers how to make their own electric cars
To revive an ailing auto shop program, high school teacher Ron Grosinger decided to go electric. He launched a class that allows students to convert old clunkers into electric cars. The first car students worked on was a 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet, and things have taken off from there.
Volkswagen makes it easier for customers to talk to their car via their phone
Volkswagen improved its Car-Net infotainment system for 2020 by adding more features and making it quicker. Smartphone connectivity lets owners lock or unlock their door and check their fuel level, among other functions, by tapping their screen a few times. The company also wants to make in-car Wi-Fi cheaper.
For Volkswagen, the electric ID.3 is more than a new car. It’s a new chapter
Volkswagen introduced a Golf-sized electric hatchback named ID.3 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The vehicle is the first in a series of electric cars that will include a crossover, and a heritage-laced, Bus-inspired people-carrier. The ID.3 will not be sold in the United States.
Official VW electric conversion updates the classic Beetle
Volkswagen teamed up with aftermarket company eClassics to offer electric conversions for vintage Beetles. VW supplies the electric motor and single-speed transmission from its e-Up! electric car. Other vintage Volkswagen models may get electric makeovers in the future.
Volkswagen’s electric I.D. R negotiated 99 hairpin turns in under eight minutes
The Volkswagen I.D. R electric car has set records in the United States and Germany, and now Volkswagen and driver Romain Dumas have added a challenging Chinese road to their list of triumphs. Volkswagen expects China to be a major market for its I.D. electric road cars, hence the latest record attempt.
General Motors and Volkswagen are ignoring hybrids to go full electric
GM and VW are done spending money on hybrids, according to a new report. The two massive automakers will direct funds to electric cars instead. Both are confident that all-electric power is the future. Hybrids have never been as important for GM and VW as they have for rivals Ford and Toyota.
The electric Volkswagen ID Buggy makes even Ferrari drivers stop and stare
Volkswagen traveled to the 2019 Geneva Auto Show to introduce an electric dune buggy named ID Buggy, and Digital Trends drove it in California. It's a modern-day tribute to the 1960s Meyers Manx, with an electric powertrain and state-of-the-art tech. If built, it could revive the dormant coachbuilding industry.
Ford, Honda, BMW, and Volkswagen reach deal with California on emissions
Four major automakers have reached a deal with California accepting the state's right to set its own, stricter, emissions standards. The Trump administration has indicated it wants to strip California of this right. The White House wants to roll back emissions standards nationally.
The last two affordable station wagons in America are about to retire
Volkswagen confirmed it will stop making the Golf Sportwagen and the Golf Alltrack by the end of 2019. Both station wagons are at the end of their life cycle but won't be replaced because they compete in a shrinking segment of the market. Instead, Volkswagen will add three SUVs to its lineup in coming years.
Volkswagen and Ford confirm partnership on electric cars, autonomous driving
Volkswagen and Ford have confirmed a major tech-sharing deal. It will give Ford access to VW's MEB platform, which will underpin many of the German automaker's future electric cars. VW will also invest in Ford-backed autonomous-driving startup Argo A.I. The Ford MEB electric car launches in 2023.
End of an icon: The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the production line
The Volkswagen Beetle is finally dead. The last one rolled off the production line July 10. While the original Beetle became a cultural icon, Volkswagen has failed to recapture that success with its newer models. The last Volkswagen Beetle will go to VW's local museum in Puebla, Mexico.
Volkswagen Type 20 concept wraps modern tech in a classic shape
The Volkswagen Type 20 concept is a classic 1962 Microbus updated with features like an electric powertrain, facial recognition, and a holographic infotainment system. It was built to celebrate the expansion of Volkswagen's Silicon Valley research center. Volkswagen has been in Silicon Valley since 1998.
VW’s new carsharing service aims to be a little different from the rest
Volkswagen has entered the carsharing market with the launch of its WeShare service in Berlin, Germany. Hoping to appeal to environmentally minded folks, it's the first such service to offer a fleet made up entirely of electric vehicles. WeShare will expand to other European countries in 2020, and possibly beyond.
Volkswagen says no thanks to outsiders as it develops its own operating system
The Volkswagen Group is taking software development into its own hands instead of joining forces with tech companies. It's assembling a team of over 5,000 engineers to design an operating system that will equip all of its cars by 2025. The vw.os system will exchange information with the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud.
Watch as Volkswagen’s ID R racer wins the ultimate EV bragging rights
The Volkswagen I.D. R has set a lap record for electric cars at Germany's Nürburgring Nordschleife. The electric race car's lap time of 6:05.33 beat the previous record by 40 seconds. Volkswagen was looking for another challenge for the I.D. R after setting the overall record at Pikes Peak.
This tuned Volkswagen Golf GTI sports a hologram-controlled audio system
Volkswagen apprentices crammed a hologram projector into the trunk of a Golf GTI hot hatchback. VW said the hologram was built using currently available tech, but that it isn't ready for use in production cars. Volkswagen commissioned the car for the annual Wörthersee meet.