- Volkswagen has teamed with Deutsche Post and the University of Art at Braunschweig to create a futuristic city delivery vehicle.
- The eT runs on electricity and can be operated semi-autonomously by voice command.
- VW said it has no plans for production.
POTSDAM, Germany — Following the surprise launch earlier this year of the Bulli at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show, Volkswagen has released another spin on the minivan of the future. This time around, the German automaker has teamed with Deutsche Post and the University of Art at Braunschweig to create the Volkswagen eT, a futuristic city delivery vehicle than runs on electricity and can be operated semi-autonomously by voice command.
Unveiled here at the Design Centre of Potsdam, the eT bears some resemblance to the Bulli, but looks much more businesslike. Powered by individual electric wheel-hub motors, the research vehicle features a flat load floor and a single power-operated sliding door on the passenger side, as well as a vertically split tailgate.
Postal workers can easily jump in or out of the vehicle on the curbside and can operate the eT from the passenger seat via a tiny joystick. The vehicle also is designed to obey simple voice commands, and can follow the delivery person from house to house or return to the delivery person on command.
Said Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, head of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: "As a vision of the future, the eT is showcasing what is the maximum feasible technology for electric vehicles in the commercial market today with a special design that systematically addresses future customer needs."
Added Dr. Rudolf Krebs, VW's group manager for electric vehicles, "The eT is not a vehicle which could become available very soon. But we must make plans today for what the world of lightweight commercial vehicles might look like starting in the second half of this decade."
VW said variants of the eT could be designed "for all conceivable business uses."
Inside Line says: As the Bulli is to consumers, imagine the eT for green-minded businesses and delivery services.
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ducatimechanic says:
09:27 AM, 11/22/2011
Indeed: what is the point of putting together something that they have no intention of making. Wouldn't that money, time, and creativity be better spent on either (1) making their current vehicles better, or (2) making their future vehicles better?
I'd much rather see four prototypes of current models that could all enter production, gauge reaction in real time (maybe even see if people were willing to put down money if you could go to a finished product quickly), and then make the steps in vehicle design proactive rather than reactive.
Auto shows have been the land of fantasy for too long.
speeddemon086 says:
07:19 PM, 11/21/2011
Its amazing that a small project to make a car can possibly make production but its odd,why make a car and not have plans to produce it at all?? I guess thats the motor industry.