Volkswagen has announced a new electric sedan priced and equipped with EVs like the Tesla Model 3, or something maybe a little bigger. TThe development program already has a bad name: Project Trinity.
I do not know why it was not set up for the ‘ID’ nomenclature that VW is currently building with the European ID.3 and American ID.4 crossovers, but it sounds like it could again be the carmaker that is an all-new platform.
Details about VW’s new Project Trinity sedan are scarce, except for the image pictured today. Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of VW, claims the new EV is capable of charging a gas engine at a fuel pump as fast as filling a fuel pump and offering ‘new standards in terms of range’. It is also not clear in what size the sedan is planned, but whether it is a flagship, it may not be as compact as the Tesla Model 3 in size. The only hardware the carmaker was interested in in the Trinity is the range of driver assistance and self-driving equipment and systems on the platform.
The series production version of the Project trinity EV sedan will be very good standardized hardware with less available equipment choices, according to the car manufacturer. This means that every car that rolls off the line will be provided with a bunch of standard hardware, whether or not you paid in advance for all the associated options. You will drive around with the weight of the equipment on your car that you have not paid enough to use. VW proposes that the car become ‘software-based product’, where the owner can pay to unlock functions over the air, as all the necessary hardware is pre-installed (theoretically).
It supposedly reduces the complexity of manufacturing, and I extrapolate, probably simplifies maintenance, the ordering and delivery operations, and logistics processes. The inventory sheet gets smaller and the quality improves, so to speak, as the menu gets shorter.
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“In the future, the vehicle’s individual configuration will no longer be determined at the time of purchase,” Brandstätter says. ‘Instead, customers can add on-demand features via the in-car digital ecosystem at any time. ”
Some of these features are planned to include different levels of driver assistance, with equipment that VW claims is capable of Level 4 practical self-management in the near future – and hardwareready for digital unlock when the owner chooses. The car will come standard with Level 2 driver assistance systems.
I’m still very skeptical about any system that claims the capability or legitimacy over current driver assistance features such as steering assist, track guidance, automatic remote control and automatic braking systems still requires full practical attention and focus from the driver.
Participants like Tesla christened themselves tone to lock features or achievements behind software paywalls, in the name of standard hardware to simplify the manufacturing process. Although there have been strong initial negative reactions, it is a manufacturing method that is applied worldwide among other car manufacturers, such as China’s NIO EV series and Lucid’s. upcoming lineup.
We will see how the standardization of hardware ainfluences the pricing of the sedan from Project Trinity, which will compete against the Tesla Model 3.. In the European market, where the Model 3 costs 39,990 euros, the German newspaper Welt reports Brandstätter, CEO, claims that the price could start ‘around 35,000 euros’.
It shakes out directly to just over $ 41,700 in US dollars, but prices abroad are likely to be cheaper than the direct Euro-dollar conversion. However, the Model 3 Standard Range Plus currently starts at $ 36,990 in the US on Tesla’s website a cheaper standard range may still be available through a store or over the phone. In addition, VW EV sales volumes in the US may still be eligible for federal tax rebates by the time the car is in production in 2026, for which Tesla buyers no longer qualify, in addition to local tax and state tax rebates (for which Tesla buyers still qualifies. for).
As for the name, VW says: “Trinity stands for three important themes: a newly developed electronics platform with the latest software, the simplification of the supply structure, and fully coupled and intelligent production at the main plant in Wolfsburg. ”
It can be a kind of obvious dig to the Model 3 from Tesla, although it reminds me of the Trinity core device test, the first atom bomb ever exploded. For sure a world-changing event, but not one to which you necessarily want to link your brand.