- ID. Aero concept car previews new VW EV
- Slick, aerodynamic saloon-like shape
- MEB platform underneath, real one coming in 2023
VW’s busy readying its next ID model, and this is our first look at it. The new ID. Aero concept previews a new, all-electric saloon to join the range in 2023 – a new model confirmed for Europe and China for now.
The new ID. Aero concept car previews the brand’s ‘first global, fully-electric sedan,’ adding that it’ll be classed as a mid-size saloon. Think Passat/Arteon dimensions, then, but electric. While unconfirmed, we expect VW will use the ID.7 name when the production model comes.
It still looks like an ID car…
The cues are all there, right? Eyeball-like headlight designs bookending a lightbar that runs across the full width of the car’s face and honeycomb details in the rear lights. It’s clean and simple – very much the Volkswagen way – with (naturally) large wheels for the concept version. VW says the concept car has a drag coefficient of 0.23cd.
We can’t see the interior just yet, but it’s pretty safe to imagine a similar interior to the likes of the ID.3 and ID.4 by design when the real thing arrives in 2023. VW promises huge space inside given the battery-electric underpinnings.
Said underpinnings being MEB?
Yup. It’s the VW Group’s platform toolkit for electric cars, spawning everything from the ID.3, 4, 5 and 6 for VW as well as cars like the Audi Q4 e-Tron and Skoda Enyaq. It’s versatile to say the least.
With the ID. Aero concept, VW says there’s a 77kWh battery pack under the skin allowing for a 385-mile range.
Isn’t VW planning something bigger than this?
Bigger in terms of technological prowess at least, yes. VW is busy working on ‘Project Trinity’, the codename for the brand’s efforts to bring the VW Group’s upcoming ‘SSP’ architecture to the mainstream.
VW’s electric plans explained
SSP, the platform that’s expected to underpin almost every EV offered by the VW Group’s various brands, is expected to be rolled out from 2025. It’s said to bring range and battery density increases as well as more technology on board to allow for a greater level of autonomy. Until then, VW will keep its MEB platform in service.