Volkswagen announced Tuesday that it will reveal a new concept vehicle called the I.D. Roomzz later this month at one of China’s most important auto shows: Auto Shanghai.
Running between April 16 and 24, Auto Shanghai will see Volkswagen’s launch of the new, full-size electric crossover concept. Volkswagen says the focus of the I.D. Roomzz concept will be on interior “variability,” which will feature “completely new seat configurations, high-quality materials, and customizable light.”
The I.D. Roomzz is Volkswagen’s sixth electric vehicle concept, and the fifth of its MEB platform-based designs likely to make production (VW has hinted the delightful I.D. Buggy concept probably won’t be built). Volkswagen says that when the I.D. Roomzz reaches Chinese showrooms in 2021, it’ll be capable of highly automated, near-autonomous driving.
“The I.D. Roomzz shows us what we can expect from full-size electric SUVs in the future,” commented Volkswagen’s Chief Designer, Klaus Bischoff. “The puristic look emphasizes the clear function and the user experience is intuitive and natural.”
The I.D. Roomzz fits the description of a vehicle previously rumored to be called the I.D. Lounge, which was said to be a three-row crossover scheduled for reveal this April in Shanghai and market launch in 2021. Because of this rumor’s near-perfect accuracy with regard to the model’s name, body style, size, and reveal date, its other claim of battery and range is lent credence.
Volkswagen will reportedly give the vehicle we now know to be called the I.D. Roomzz a sizable 111 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery, one capable of propelling the model up to 373 miles on a full charge. If accurate, this amount of range would make the I.D. Roomzz the undisputed electric long-hauler in its segment, never mind the EV market at large.
Along with Volvo, and supposedly Jaguar, Volkswagen is one of a handful of automakers to go all-in on electric propulsion as it will reportedly cancel all internal combustion engine development after 2026 in the pursuit of battery power. We speculate that Volkswagen’s hard charge toward environmentally friendly vehicles is motivated in part by a desire to shed its dirty post-Dieselgate reputation, though the scandal continues to hound the automaker years after coming to light.