Volkswagen, in the midst of a transformation that it promises will see it gradually abandon the combustion engine, is working on a fully electric three-row SUV.
Informally dubbed the ID Lounge within the confines of VW HQ, the seven-occupant SUV would be roughly similar in size and interior layout to the third-generation Touareg.
The model will be built on the company’s new MEB platform specifically developed to accommodate different forms of electrified powertrains. The architecture could, for example, underpin an electric Golf while being the basis for the different variants of the future I.D. BUZZ, the modern version of the Type 2 van.
It’s expected that the ID Lounge will have a range surpassing 600 km, at least according to preliminary European testing. In North America, the figure could be closer to 500 km.
The electric SUV won’t be ready any time soon, but nor is it strictly a distant-horizon proposition. Volkswagen wants to debut the ID Lounge in 2022, one year after introducing the I.D. Crozz and at the same time as the sportier version of that model.
Time to get that charging station installed at home, we say: the automotive universe is going to look drastically different by 2025.