• Volkswagen's ID.Code concept has been unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show.
The Beijing Auto Show is in full swing this week. For the most part, the presentations include vehicles designed and conceived for the Chinese market, which will likely never see North America. But there are a number of new models shown there that could interest us just the same.
The ID.Code concept unveiled by Volkswagen caught our attention, not least because its styling is decidedly different from what we’ve seen from the brand over the years. Does this new design study offer a peek at the future of Volkswagen styling?
Likely it does - at least, in so far as it applies to Chinese models being developed by VW. The design is uncluttered and very rounded, and bears no resemblance to anything we've seen from this brand in the recent past. The transition to electric models certainly represented a logical occasion to modernize the automaker’s design signature.
This might be destined for the Chines market, but if the reaction to its look is positive, don’t be surprised to see the automaker adopt elements of it in European and North American models as well.
Unsurprisingly, the concept is powered by electric motors and a lithium-ion battery, and its glass roof features solar panels to provide additional power. The company also says the vehicle is capable of Level 4 autonomous driving, thanks to the presence of "the most advanced sensors, lights, cameras and displays of our time."
Level 4 allows the driver to completely relinquish control of the vehicle to relax or read a book, for instance. In that mode, the steering wheel retracts and the front seats can swivel 180 degrees. They can also recline to allow occupants to sleep while the vehicle drives itself. That kind of thing might still be some ways off, of course.
The model is equipped with futuristic tricks like a welcome lighting system that turns the vehicle into a digital avatar providing information to the driver and to other road users. The bodywork beneath the light bar is partially transparent, and as the user approaches, a visual and audio welcome sequence is played, while the weather forecast for the next two hours is displayed.
VW says that in autonomous driving situations, lighting systems are supposed to "interact with other road users,” but didn’t provide any further details on that.
Inside, it’s clear this is a concept. The presentation has little do with what we actually see in actual vehicles. The space is described as a living-room type space, and it abounds in environmentally friendly materials. Transparent screens integrated into the side windows can display information relevant to occupants. This is truly a concept that explores all possibilities for the future.
More relevant in the here and now is the company describing the ID.Code concept as a preview of a new generation of SUVs, which means that this model's design signature will make it into production models, once the usual changes and softenings required for practical reasons are implemented.
What remains to be seen is whether this new styling signature is introduced in China and/or in other markets around the world.
