Volkswagen I.D. EV concept revealed ahead of Paris | video

Concept sketches point to new design language for VW’s new electrified future from 2020.

Volkswagen will unveil the pivotal first step in its race to an electrified future from 2020 later today at the Paris Motor Show, revealing an automated, four-seat EV known as the I.D.

While the I.D. is just a concept as this stage, Volkswagen proclaimed in 2015 that it would be pursuing a heavily electrified future, with 18 new models to be ready by 2020. The I.D. looks as if it will be the first cab off the rank.

It’s set to launch alongside the Mk VIII Golf, which suggests Volkswagen are paralleling development of the two products. The company has also indicated that it wants to sell a million EVs by 2025, which means that economies of scale will have to be found quickly in order for prices of EVs to fall from their currently high levels.

VW says that the I.D. will use a single electric motor that will output 125kW of power, and have enough battery range aboard to carry it up to an impressive 600km. Currently, a Tesla Model S 90D is rated at 490km.

It’ll be based on Volkswagen’s new Modular Electric Drive Kit – known as MEB – in VW speak – and heralds a new design direction that will be replicated across the incoming EV fleet.

The I.D.’s steering wheel, will retract when the car is in autonomous mode, providing more room for the driver.

And even though VW says the I.D. will provide a “tangible glimpse” into a fully autonomous driving future, it also says that such high-level autonomy – known as I.D. Pilot - won’t actually be ready until 2025.

The interior space, too, will be radically different; an electric car does away for the need for transmission tunnels and large engine bays, giving interior designers much more free rein.

The I.D.’s steering wheel, for example, will retract when the car is in autonomous mode, providing more room for the driver.

And in an interesting quirk, VW says the I.D. can serve as a parcel locker in case no one is home to receive said package...

Revolutionary vision or pie in the sky? Can you see yourself driving a fully autonomous electric vehicle by 2025? Tell us what you think in the comments below.