First design ideas: the fully electric ID. family
First design ideas: the fully electric ID. family
Klaus Bischoff, Volkswagen’s Head Designer, and his team have transformed the fully electric ID. family from a vision into reality. The radically new design also symbolises the new freedoms that electric mobility offers.
He turned a vision into reality with the ID.3: Klaus Bischoff, Volkswagen head designer. In the interview series ‘Becoming ID.’, the 57-year-old tells us why a separate product family was developed for electric mobility and what the unique requirements of an electric vehicle are.
Why was a separate product family – the ID. family – created for electric mobility?
It was clear to us from the outset that we needed our own uncompromising platform for electric mobility to meet our demanding standards regarding range, quality and price. An electric vehicle has an entirely different layout. The largest component is no longer the engine but the battery, which is best positioned between the axles in the vehicle floor, ensuring a very low centre of gravity. With its modular electric drive matrix platform, the ID. family has an uncompromising electrical design. This approach makes electric mobility truly enjoyable because it offers advantages that are impossible to achieve with a shared platform for electric and combustion engines. That is what we have always wanted: to create emotional mobility that is not restricted to purely rational arguments. Electric mobility should not stand for abstinence but for fun. This is the only way to convince people.
The ID.3 is a milestone for Volkswagen, just as the Beetle or the first Golf were. How do you approach designing such a vitally important model?
This is the greatest technical transformation in the history of Volkswagen. The decision to launch a project like the ID. family was a huge incentive. We wanted to show what we can create together. An electric car has fundamentally different design requirements. The air supply hardly plays a role any more. In contrast, aerodynamics has a fundamental impact on the range. We have expressed this functionality as an aesthetic based around a seamless, flowing style. Key models are, of course, primarily focused on emotional impact. The ID. family features a face without a radiator grille along with a rear-wheel drive. These recall our roots established by the Beetle and Bulli with their rear engine, and also look to the future with a smile.
The Golf is the closest thing to a perfect product. That's something we wanted to achieve with the all-electric ID. family, too.Klaus BischoffHead of Volkswagen Design and Executive Director
Was there a benchmark for ID.3, a standard that you wanted to achieve?
We wanted to do electric mobility our way – the Volkswagen way. A number of electric cars were already available when the ID. family was launched, including the e‑Golf. We were well aware that we could achieve more with an independent electric mobility platform. The conventional Golf is so successful because it is 100% optimised. The Golf comes very close to being the perfect product. We wanted to achieve the electric equivalent with the ID.
What did you not expect at the beginning of the ID.3 project?
How impressive electric mobility can be in this segment. The low centre of gravity and the instantaneous torque create an incredible driving experience. I haven’t missed a single thing since the first drive. On the contrary: in combination with our situation-dependent user interface and connectivity, we create an unmatched mobility experience in the compact class – this is a giant leap forward.
The ID.3 is now a real series vehicle and the ID. family almost complete, what’s next?
The ID.3 is only the beginning. The entire ID. family is now ready to go into production. And of course, we are already working on the future after the future.
