Volkswagen’s high-tech Project Trinity EV is the first car the firm has "developed from the inside out", with an emphasis on interior design, because of its focus on offering autonomous driving systems, according to company bosses autocar.co.uk/car-news/elect…
The production car resulting from Project Trinity is due in 2026 and is set to take the form of a sleek four-door saloon
It will be one of the first models built on the Volkswagen Group’s planned new SSP architecture and using a next-generation software system
Trinity will be launched initially with Level 3 advanced driver assistance systems (allowing it to drive itself with a driver able to intervene), with a plan to upgrade that to Level 4 (fully self-driving, with no human intervention required) by around 2030
Because of that emphasis on autonomous driving, Volkswagen sales boss Klaus Zellmer has said that, with Trinity, “for the first time, we are developing a car from the inside out”, with a focus on maximising interior space to enable multiple uses for passengers
"Trinity is doing a lot of new things,” said Zellmer
“It’s about the architecture, and our goal is to define it by deciding what we’re going to do inside the car for our customers"
“We call Trinity a time machine, because it will take us to autonomous driving and free up your time while in it. Trinity is a companion for life: for leisure time, family time and so on"
Early sketches of design proposals for Trinity’s interior suggest it will make maximum use of the stretched dimensions allowed by a skateboard EV chassis, with a minimised dashboard and reclining front seats for when the driver is not controlling the car
No steering wheel is visible in the sketch, hinting that VW is considering a concept-car-esque retracting wheel
Volkswagen has yet to detail specifics of the autonomous systems that Trinity will be launched with and that will subsequently be offered through over-the-air updates
VW development boss Thomas Ulbrich said that is partly down to the lack of specific legislation for the use of advanced driver assistance systems
Ulbrich said more dialogue is needed between governments and car firms on the scope of laws and regulations that will govern autonomous cars on the road
“Governments have to be willing and able to listen to us and talk to use, because we can only do this together,” said Ulbrich
"There are no regulations for autonomous driving and we need interactions between policy makers and the car industry, because things need to fit together"
“Autonomous highly automated driving technology will develop between the middle of this decade and the next decade: we [the industry and governments] can define it together and develop it step by step"
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Volkswagen AG’s top U.S. executive met with the head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to talk about electric vehicles and the push toward cleaner cars as the Biden administration works to revise vehicle emissions rules reuters.com/article/us-aut…
Scott Keogh, president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, spoke with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and reaffirmed the company’s support for an emissions deal with California
Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen and BMW in July 2019 struck a voluntary agreement with California on reducing vehicle emissions through the 2026 model years which would allow them to meet a single nationwide standard
It follows the success of the first test in Oxford, during which six autonomous (Level 4) Ford Mondeos tackled a nine-mile round-trip route last October
Just four self-driving Mondeos will be introduced in Birmingham
As in Oxford, the cars will be fitted with lidar, radar and stereo cameras and autonomy software provided by autonomous vehicles firm Oxbotica
General Motors is mum on a high-profile, albeit small investment in startup electric truck maker Lordstown Motors as the startup teeters on the edge of extinction
In a government filing Tuesday, Lordstown Motors said it doesn't have enough money to start commercial production and it has doubts whether it can continue as a going concern through the end of the year
VW Charged With Deceit Over Diesel as France Chases Carmakers
French investigators said Volkswagen AG has been charged in a fresh crackdown on alleged deception over diesel emissions that’s also embroiled rival Renault SA. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
VW was charged on May 6 and must now make a 10 million-euro ($12.2 million) bail payment and provide a 60 million-euro bank guarantee, an official at the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a Wednesday statement
The announcement comes a day after Renault revealed it had also been charged over similar accusations in a separate case