At CES 2023, on Tuesday, in Las Vegas, Volkswagen revealed its latest electric car: the ID.7 sedan, destined for North America. The ID.7 is part of VW’s new family of electric vehicles that use the company’s new modular platform called MEB (Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten or Modular Electrification Toolkit). It will compete with Tesla’s Model 3. It will be built at Emden in Germany. Not many details were given. On preview, the details have been obscured by a QR-code-themed digital camouflage. VW says the ID.7 will offer some fancier features, like a standard heads-up display and a massive 15-inch touchscreen. The ID.7 features a new, advanced climate system. The direction of the air vents in the ID.7 is digitally controlled through the touchscreen.
VW says the climate control system is clever enough to detect when the driver is approaching the car and will then cool the interior on a hot day or warm it on a cold one. The company says it’s targeting a WLTP-certified range of 700 km. The ID.7’s shape is designed to help the car achieve that; more than half an EV’s energy at highway speed is spent combatting air resistance. Details about the production model, which will be revealed in the coming months. VW hasn’t said how much the ID.7 will cost or when it’ll go on sale, but in 2024. “The ID.7 is one of 10 new electric models that we are planning to launch by 2026. Our goal? To deliver suitable products for our customers in every single segment,” said Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars.
