If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser. This week Ford turned the Mustang Mach-E into a police car, Smart took the wraps off a rather large crossover concept, and Toyota unveiled its battery development plans. But first: The IAA Mobility in Munich this week saw a number of high-profile electric vehicle debuts, with the biggest one arguably being the show itself. If you're unfamiliar with the show's name, there's a good reason for that: 2021 was the inaugural year of IAA Mobility in BMW's home city, complete with a new venue and a distinctly different, greener theme. The show effectively takes over from the Frankfurt IAA, or the Internationale Automobil-Austelling, that dates all the way back to 1897, and that had long settled into a biennial Frankfurt residency that it enjoyed since 1951 along with the status of Germany's most important auto show. Audi's Grandsphere concept landed in Munich just weeks after the innovative Skysphere concept. Audi unveiled the Grandsphere concept in Munich this week, fresh off the debut of the Skysphere concept at Pebble Beach last month. Intended as a "a private jet for the road" complete with Level 4 autonomy, the concept gave a glimpse into Audi's electric tech and design direction, while also serving as a loose preview of future luxury EVs from Ingolstadt. An inexpensive EV is in the works with a $24,000 target price, but it will take a while for it to arrive. Volkswagen's Munich debut was the ID.Life concept, previewing an affordable EV headed into production in a few years with a price tag of about $24,000. That's right: Wolfsburg is working on cheaper and smaller vehicles based on the MEB platform, and one of them is expected to be a small crossover hatch. After facing some development headwinds, the Isetta-styled Microlino 2.0 is headed into production, combining retro bubble car packaging with an electric drivetrain. The Munich IAA Mobility show served as the launch point for the pocket-sized EV. Featuring a 25-hp motor, the two-seater is slated to be offered in three battery flavors/trims: Urban with a 6-kWh battery, Dolce with a 10.5-kWh battery, and Competizione with 14-kWh of juice on tap. These three versions will serve up projected ranges of 60, 109, and 143 miles, respectively, allowing the bubble car to exceed the ranges of some much larger electric models currently on sale. The Microlino 2.0, of course, won't be venturing out on the autobahn with its top speed of 56 mph. While a number of police departments in the US have purchased a few Teslas—perhaps not as fully outfitted patrol vehicles with all the gear—yet another electric model is showing police potential, this time with all the trimmings. Ford is currently working with a number of police agencies in the UK that are evaluating the Mustang Mach-E for patrol duties, including London's Metropolitan Police Force.
|
Friday, September 10, 2021
All the New EVs and Concepts from the IAA Mobility Munich
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment