PARIS MOTOR SHOW: VW's next EV will be an SUV

Of course it was inevitable given the global juggernaut that is the sports utility vehicle, but Volkswagen has now all but confirmed an SUV will be the next member of its upcoming electric vehicle family, which is expected to spawn up to five members from 2020.

When Volkswagen debuted the battery-powered I.D. concept car at last week's Paris motor show, it promised that the production version will be able to drive up to 600km on a full charge and cost about the same as a diesel Golf, addressing the two biggest issues with SUVs: range and cost.

The I.D. will be a key component of Volkswagen's Strategy 2025 plan to become the world's EV leader by selling a million battery-electric cars annually by the middle of next decade, but to achieve that it will be only the first in a family of models based on the German giant's new modular EV platform, MEB.

Volkswagen's MEB family is not just a pipe dream or a distraction from its Dieselgate fiasco, but will become reality within five years – potentially including Australia, where the German car-maker finally appears ready to electrify with models like the Golf GTE and perhaps even the e-Golf before 2020.

Speaking to Australian journalists in Paris, Volkswagen's board member in charge of sales and marketing Juergen Stackman indicated that the Golf-size, sliding rear-doored I.D. will be joined by a coupe-style crossover utility vehicle (CUV) based on the same EV architecture.

Stackman said Volkswagen would soon launch two additional SUVs positioned below the Tiguan and two above it, because "SUVs will be the dominant car type around the world soon". Asked whether the MEB platform would also spawn an SUV, he was initially coy.

"The question of where this electric technology will take us in terms of body types I can't really answer," he said. "We do know that actually this technology will take a lot different variations.

"It has a lot of potential to go into different sizes and different shapes, so in theory yes, there could be an electric SUV clearly. But from the brand we need to see whether this is the best place to take our next steps."

However, Stackman suggested the next member of the VW MEB family could be revealed as soon as the Los Angeles show in November, the Detroit show in January or the Geneva show next March.

"I think in the next series of international motor shows you'll see where we're heading with our thinking, which will be more about the family thought at the shows to come," he offered.

"I think the million [EV] sales per year [by 2025] relies upon hitting sweet spots in price and demand, which basically says we have to give customers what they want at a price they can pay for and this is the key job."

Volkswagen's global sales and marketing chief then suggested the MEB SUV wouldn't be a traditional SUV, but a coupe-crossover in the vein of the BMW X2, but with a further twist.

"I can't give you the answer yet because we're in the very early phase of our [EV] family exploration. But the shape of an SUV probably will play a certain role I have to say.

"It seems to be the number one wanted shape, so ignoring that would not be a very wise decision. It's a popular shape, but SUV and CUV will see different executions. How much coupe is going into them? It's great, it's car development.

"Our job is to take electric into sweet spots in the key markets, which are Europe, China and North America."

Asked specifically whether Volkswagen would produce a coupe-style electric SUV to sit alongside the I.D., Stackman said: "We'll see. We try not to do what everybody is doing, in a Volkswagen way.

"I'll show you when I can show you. I think you have to see it. The technology and the architecture allows you to be very different with proportions.

"Some of the norms with how does an SUV look ... clearly I think that will change and we should be at the forefront of that change. It's an interesting period where we can actually shape some of the future demands of the market."

When motoring.com.au expressed enthusiasm for a third MEB-based electric car in the spirit of VW's original Kombi – much like the Budd-e concept revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas early this year -- Stackman said: "I think it's an interesting idea. We'll talk about that when we're ready."

Indeed, according to Autocar, the five-model MEB family approved for development by VW brand Boss Herbert Diess will include a hatchback, crossover, people-mover, luxury sedan and sports car.

All of them will be based on MEB -- which will employ scalable electric motors, axles and suspension to allow for models ranging from light cars to large sedans -- except the Budd-e inspired people-mover.

That model's larger EV platform, which is being developed in tandem with MEB, will be shared with Audi's first all-electric model, which was previewed by the e-tron quattro concept and is due on sale in 2018.

Therefore Volkswagen's born-again Kombi could be on sale as soon as 2019, beating into showrooms the I.D., which according to Autocar will be followed by a high-riding crossover (CUV-e), an all-electric replacement for VW's Phaeton flagship (codenamed X-BEV) and either a sports coupe or roadster.