The new concept car, the I.D., is meant to mark a new era for Volkswagen, and one that will have little-to-no emissions.
DETROIT - Volkswagen has made the bold claim that a new electric vehicle it's unveiling in Paris this week is "as revolutionary as" the Beetle.
The German automaker is perhaps in need of such a revolution, as it wades through the largest scandal in its 79-year history, after admitting to deliberately cheating emissions tests with some of it its diesel-engine cars.
The new concept car, the I.D., is meant to mark a new era for Volkswagen, an era that will have little-to-no emissions.
The I.D. is an all-electric car with a range of 400 to 600 kilometers, or about 250 to 375 miles.
For comparison, the soon-to-be released, all-electric Chevrolet Bolt has a range of 238 miles, and Tesla's highly anticipated Model 3 is so far expected to get a range of about 215 miles.
The I.D. will hit the roads in 2020, and is the first in a new fleet of 30 electric vehicles Volkswagen said it plans to roll out between now and 2025.
Beyond its electric drive, Volkswagen said the I.D. concept car also gives a glimpse of the future of fully automated driving, a mode that will be offered beginning in 2025. In automated driving mode, the I.D.'s steering wheel retracts into the dash.
In May, the Volkswagen announced a $300 million investment in Gett, an Israeli ride-sharing service similar to Uber. Gett is in more than 60 cities worldwide, with an especially large footing in some European cities such as London.
It's all part of the company's "Together - Strategy 2025" program, in which it looks to expand beyond car-making and into becoming a "mobility services" firm.
"Looking a little further ahead, we could also operate our own self-driving shuttle fleets once urban autonomous driving technology is ready", Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Muller said in a release. He added: "In future, many people will no longer own a car. But they can all be a Volkswagen customer in one way or another - because we will serve a much broader concept of mobility than is the case today."