T7 - All electric?

Bramco · Jan 6, 2016

Nice one. I thought it was still like his space venture, I.e. only open to corporate investors.

Given Tesla are also moving into storage systems for PV at home, makes sense to invest. If the investment isn't enough to cover a vehicle it might cover a PV storage system.

Bramco · Jan 6, 2016

And here's the announcement a CES.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-ces/volkswagen-budd-e-concept-revealed-ces

Apart from the technical details, the most important part of this is that it is a passenger vehicles MPV. So only time will tell if there is a campervan version.

Aidy P · Jan 6, 2016

Interesting though I'm sure I'll be well on the way to wearing out my T6 before it comes out. Life's too short to delay the next holiday!!

johnyboy · Jan 6, 2016

Betting this will not make it in this vision though.. watered down version in Toureg mode with 180 mile range

estresao · Jan 7, 2016

I've seen last October a company called Car2go in Austin (USA) which rent small electrics cars and tbeg are distributed around the city, as one of those bicycle renting managed by city councils. I've seen that a great solution, you don't need to own a car.

Curiously a friend of mine tried same thing in Madrid, also called Car2go, which looks like the owner is actually Mercedes (not sure about that).

I think that could (Should?) be the model in a future. For big trips yoy can own or rent as well.

johnyboy · Jan 8, 2016

I am all for a self-driving electric vehicle - that's the future; choose to own one, it can be out working Uber for you while you're in the office; knows to be back at 5pm with charge to get you home

briwy · Jan 8, 2016

I can't think of anything much more boring than a self driving vehicle personally. That's called a train. I love driving even though in this country now it can become a chore at certain times and places. Glad I'm old enough to remember when you could go out and have a good thrash around without big brother watching your every move, get home, change your oil, decoke the head, weld all the holes, pay someone five quid for an MOT and do it all again next month.

marshian70 · Jan 8, 2016

I enjoy driving too, one of the reasons why our Cali is not a daily driver. However, there are some journeys like the one to the Alps we have coming up in a few weeks time where the thought of a self drive vehicle is quite appealing

WelshGas · Jan 10, 2016

marshian70 said:
I enjoy driving too, one of the reasons why our Cali is not a daily driver. However, there are some journeys like the one to the Alps we have coming up in a few weeks time where the thought of a self drive vehicle is quite appealing

That's called a Coach or a train.

marshian70 · Jan 10, 2016

There should be a tongue in cheek smiley...

Bramco · Jan 10, 2016

WelshGas said:
That's called a Coach or a train.

Nope, not if it's your vehicle and the Cali is doing the driving. That's called relaxing....... And letting technology do the hard work.

WelshGas · Apr 8, 2019

Well, someone has driven all the way to Sydney down under with an Electric Vehicle. Interesting route, virtually avoiding Western Europe. Did take 3 years.

Plug Me In - Netherlands to Australia by electric car

Sustainable Adventurer and speaker Wiebe Wakker drove an electric car from the Netherlands to Australia to educate, inspire and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future.

plugmeinproject.com

Nick Stubbs · Apr 9, 2019

Rhyddin said:
I am not sure if it still the case but BMW used the system mentioned above of having the right vehicle for the right journey. We looked at buying the i3, which was electric but had a small 2 stroke motor on board (which didn't drive any of the wheels but served as a generator when needed to support the low battery), and BMW offered a loan 3 or 5 series for longer journeys. I think you subscribed to the service, giving you a fixed number of days use of the bigger vehicles per year.
Clever system - both the loan car and the onboard generator - but there's no denying the inevitable weight of the Cali when using battery power.

In saying that, the Tesla Model S, the ultimate electric car at the moment, I would suggest, weighs in at over 2 tonnes, can do 0-60 in less than 3 seconds (if you tick the right options) and is good for over 200 miles on a charge so there is hope!!

correction the I3 has a 600cc four stroke range extender..