Volkswagen to unveil top-secret new electric car at CES next month

Volkswagen announced that it will reveal a new addition to its electric vehicle lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 3 at 4 pm Pacific Standard Time (PST). The company has not specified which electric vehicle it will be presenting, but rumors suggest it may be the 2024 Volkswagen ID.Aero, a four-door sedan that is expected to fill the gap between the Jetta and the discontinued Passat models.

In 2018, Volkswagen introduced the I.D. Vizzion Concept as a hint that the company was developing an electric sedan. This concept eventually evolved into the ID.Aero. Volkswagen has announced that it will showcase a "camouflaged version" of the new electric vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which suggests that it will not be the final production model.

While we may not get to see the complete production version of the car at CES, it is likely that the company will reveal the name of the car, which may not be ID.Aero.

Volkswagen has previously used both numerical and alphabetical naming conventions for its production electric vehicles, so it is unclear what the final name of the new electric vehicle will be. In the past, the company has released the ID.4 model in the local market, as well as the ID.3 and ID.5 models in Europe, in addition to the ID. Buzz.

There are no trademark registrations that seem to be related to the new electric vehicle, indicating that Volkswagen has successfully kept the name a secret.

Based on what is known about the new electric vehicle, it is likely that it will use the same modular electric drive matrix (MEB) architecture as the ID.4 and will feature a similar internal structure, including a fully digital information and entertainment system without physical knobs or buttons. It is also expected to have a hatchback design similar to the Arteon, rather than a traditional trunk.

It is possible that Volkswagen will offer two versions of the new electric vehicle: a single motor, rear-wheel drive model and a more powerful version with two motors and all-wheel drive. The concept vehicle had a 77 kWh battery capacity, which was estimated to provide a driving range of 385 miles using the WLTP test cycle (or approximately 337 miles using the EPA cycle). However, the actual range of the production model may vary.

The name of the concept vehicle, ID.Aero, suggests that it will have exceptional aerodynamics, which will allow it to travel long distances with a relatively small battery pack. In addition to the new electric sedan, Volkswagen will also display the European version of the ID. Buzz at CES in preparation for its official debut in the United States in 2023.

Via