VW to add luxury SUV and beach buggy to its electric lineup

VW plans to expand its already extensive I.D. electric concepts lineup next year with a luxury SUV and a ‘beach buggy’.

The German automaker’s electrification effort is based on a new MEB platform for electric vehicles.

Volkswagen’s first production electric vehicles on the MEB platform are going to be based on a series of EV concepts called ‘I.D’ concept vehicles.

So far, they have unveiled the I.D., a Golf-sized vehicle, which is expected to be their first mass-market EV for the model year 2020. VW also unveiled the I.D. VIZZION sedan, the crossover all-electric I.D. CROZZ Concept, and then there’s the I.D. BUZZ electric microbus, which we’ve learned is going to be produced in Hanover in 2022.

Now we learn from Autocar that VW is planning to add a luxury SUV called I.D. Lounge to the lineup next year:

“A seven-seat SUV, which goes under the internal working title ID Lounge, will be revealed at the Shanghai motor show in April. It is being developed as a luxurious range-topping model with exterior and interior dimensions similar to the German firm’s new third-generation Touareg.”

While it may take the form a Touareg, it’s expected to be built on the same version of the MEB platform as the I.D. BUZZ microbus, which is equipped with a 111 kWh battery pack.

Following the I.D. Lounge, VW is also reportedly planning to launch a 6th I.D. concept that will be based on the classic Meyers Manx beach buggy that the German automaker was producing in the 1960s.

Autocar reported:

“The new two-seater, currently under construction at Volkswagen’s Braunschweig-based R&D centre in Germany, is described as a modern interpretation of the original rear-engined, Beetle-based Manx buggy. It’s an open-top design featuring a low-set body, a free-standing windscreen, a sturdy roll-over bar and large wheels.”

The new electric vehicle is expected to be unveiled during the second half of 2019.

It’s not clear when or even if they will bring it to production, but VW has so far announced plans to bring every single new I.D. electric concept to production.