Volkswagen’s efforts to put the scandalous details of Dieselgate behind it by focusing on a growing electric vehicle business has been well documented.
In addition to locking in suppliers and increasing electric vehicle (EV) battery production, the German automaker plans to unveil a unique electric concept vehicle at the Geneva Auto Show in March.
Modeled after the iconic beach buggies of the mid-1960s, the still-unnamed electric concept will be an updated version of the Beetle-based Meyers Manx buggies that were produced from 1964-1971.
The buggies will help spotlight VW’s modular electrification toolkit, which, because of its German origin, uses the acronym MEB. This platform will be in place on a number of upcoming electric vehicles.
VW seems pretty excited about the prospects of this new buggy concept. The British magazine Autocar is reporting that Volkswagen is even considering making this model a production vehicle and folding it under the company's ID electric vehicle line.
This would help reinforce the flexibility of the MEB platform that will be used for VW’s launch of new electric models, which will include a Golf-sized hatchback, a Microbus-inspired van, and a sedan — with rollouts scheduled to begin in 2020.
In addition to sharing the MEB platform with the buggy, all of these models were also initially presented as concept vehicles.