EV INTERIORS
The huge potential to change vehicle
design due to the introduction of
all-electric powertrains – which
barely need a hood nor a
transmission tunnel and thus
rearrange proportions to unlock more interior
space – has been an opportunity that
carmakers have rarely maximized. While the
BMW i3 and Jaguar I-Pace are two exceptions,
in some cases OEMs have elected to keep the
exterior form of their all-electric vehicles
similar to existing internal combustion engine
(ICE) vehicles, so as not to shock or unsettle
early EV adopters with a new design as well as
powertrain. And in other cases the reason has
been more about pragmatism. Because
automakers have been unsure whether early
EVs would sell in large numbers at the higher
prices required to cover the costs of expensive
batteries, they have often made sure those cars
could also accommodate (cheaper) regular
engines, or indeed in the case of hybrid and
plug-in hybrids, a combination of the two
power sources, as well as being manufacturable
down the same production line.
But as a direct result of dieselgate
in late 2015 – when
Volkswagen’s emissions-test
scandal was uncovered,
progress towards
dedicated new electric
platforms accelerated.
“We had the diesel issue,
and our boss Dr Diess
asked to see an electric
family. This was in 2015,”
explains Klaus Bischoff , VW
brand head of design. “There was a
meeting with 42 top managers of which I was
one, to come together over the weekend for a
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1. The Porsche Taycan
uses innovative battery
placement to create more
space in the rear footwells
2. The new fully-electric
VW I.D.3 is built on a
modular platform that
provides a larger, usable
interior space
3. 3D touch surfaces and
textiles can replace many
physical controls and dials
“We had to do something completely
different, to rethink our brand. The
result was to create a new Volkswagen
with emission-free mobility”
Klaus Bischoff, head of design, Volkswagen
102 // January 2020 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
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