VW concept trio previews 30-model assault on Chinese market

ID Era (left) was developed with SAIC; Aura (centre) with FAW; Evo with VW's Anhui base Two new SUVs and compact saloon are aimed at new breed of Chinese buyers, majoring on autonomous capabilities Volkswagen has unveiled a trio of concept cars ahead of the Shanghai motor show, previewing a dramatic expansion of its offerings in the crucial Chinese market. Developed in collaboration with VW’s joint-venture partners SAIC and FAW, plus its sub-division headquartered in Anhui (East China), the new cars form the backbone of a 30-model line-up that is due in China over the next two years. The headliner is the ID Era developed with SAIC, previewing VW's first car with a range-extender powertrain. It is a three-row seven-seater similar to the existing Tayron that pairs a combustion-engined generator with a battery-electric powertrain for a combined range of more than 621 miles (1000km) with the fuel tank and battery brimmed. The other SUV in the trio is the ID Evo, developed by VW Anhui. It has been conceived as a sibling to the ID Unyx – the Chinese-market version of the Cupra Tavascan – but swaps that car’s rakish styling for a more conventional hatchback silhouette. However, it packs an 800V electrical architecture, rather than the 400V system used by the Tavascan. It also uses a new zonal computer set-up that is said to enable a wide range of new digital services and rapid over-the-air software updates. The final model is FAW’s ID Aura, a small notchback saloon in the vein of the old VW Bora. It is at buyers who would typically tend toward affordable A-segment city cars and will manifest the first car based on the new Compact Main Platform (CMP) architecture aimed at the Chinese market. VW has yet to publish specifics on each model’s powertrain but confirmed all are New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), a Chinese term encompassing plug-in hybrids, range-extender hybrids and battery-electric cars. It added that each car is fitted with an artificial-intelligence based autonomous driving system that will be capable of driving in so-called “Level 2++” mode next year, in which the car takes most of the controls but the driver retains much of the liability for keeping out of harm’s way. “In certain situations cars will be able to drive fully autonomously – including overtaking and turning maneuvers and independently merging into traffic – with the driver’s supervision,” VW said in a statement.

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