ID.Era concept points to future SUVs from VW

THE Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition saw the debut of a trio of new-energy ID concepts from Volkswagen – the ID.Era large three-row SUV, the ID.Evo large electric sports SUV, and the ID.Aura small electric sedan. But it’s the ID.Era with its seven-seat capacity and range-extender technology that was of most interest to the product-planning department of Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA).

Expected to spearhead several similar Volkswagen SUVs internationally, the ID.Era concept was jointly developed with SAIC as a “foretaste” of Volkswagen’s new-model strategy for China, with 30 new vehicles due to launch there by 2027.

Falling under the ‘new energy vehicle’ (NEV) category, the ID.Era previews Volkswagen’s first-ever vehicle featuring range-extender technology, where the combustion engine acts as a fuel-powered generator to charge the battery while driving. VW says this provides up to 700km of range, in addition to the 300km range of the battery, for a total travel distance of 1000km before refuelling.

Go Auto asked VGA about the suitability of a large range-extender hybrid SUV like the ID.Era for Australia, and the feedback from both Piergiorgio Minto (VGA director passenger vehicles) and Arjun Nidigallu (national product manager for passenger vehicles) was positive.

“The ID.Era is one of many products that we continue to investigate. We put together a business case for these things at a high level, and there’s lots of blockages in the way … but certainly that type of product,” said Mr Nidigallu.

“I’m not saying that particular product per se (the Chinese-market ID.Era in its production form), but that type of large SUV product we’re certainly interested in.

“The ID.Era is a particular product that’s been publicly announced, obviously, but there’s more things in the pipeline from different markets that we continue to look at,” he said, alluding to the bunch of “enjoyable things” that VGA’s product team saw during their last trip to Wolfsburg.

“That’s the advantage of a big group,” said Mr Minto, referencing the global reach and often region-specific model development of the Volkswagen Group.

“There is a lot that we can investigate, and we can have a look around. So there are a lot of interesting products at the moment that could be viable for Australia.”