Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept shows a peak of the connected minivan of the future

The Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept is the first VW to showcase the new Modular Electric Toolkit platform, designed specifically for plug-in vehicles, and takes in-car connectivity, displays and operation into the next decade (could it be?) of our 21st century.

The bold BUDD-e design aims to capture the VW minibus design heritage and provide a hint at the future.

600km range, 80% charge in 30 minutes

The zero emissions drivetrain will enable pure electric driving of up to 600 kilometres, which is on par with today’s engined cars.

A new highly-efficient battery can charge up to 80 percent of its capacity in just 30 minutes, marking an operational breakthrough for Electric Vehicles (EVs).

Connect to your home from your car

The Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept will enable new ideas in connectivity, by letting passengers access their home (house) functions such as lights or monitoring from inside the vehicle, bringing together Smart Home and Smart Car technology.

Open the door by gesture

Gesture control has barely made it to reality, and already an update is being developed:  Gesture Control 2.0 enables sensors around the car to sense the hand movement of a rear-seat passenger who wants to open the sliding side door.

Drop Box – parcel delivery to your car

Items can be ordered (even from inside the car) and then arranged to be delivered… to the car.  The vehicle reads an access code from authorised parcel delivery services, and then opens the Drop Box – inside the rear bumper is a slide-out tray where parcels can be delivered to and then stored.  It also has a refrigerated section.

Did I forget it in the car?

How often have we forgotten house keys, a phone or some personal item in a car, only to be searching in the compartments and under the seats for the mislocated item?  Sometimes it only reappears much later.

Those days will be over with the new BUDD-e – your new car buddy will take stock of portable belongings loaded into the car, and display an inventory list so you can see if the missing object is in the car or not… but you don’t even have to walk back to the car to check – just use the “Home-Net don’t forget” feature to locate the item from your smartphone or smartwatch.

Volkswagen, realising we can forget a phone in the car, already has a reminder in their current production cars – when you switch off and exit your VW, a message “Remember your mobile phone” appears on the centre screen.  Useful.

Big displays

The digital displays already common in today’s cars will change.  The Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept shows the driver faced by a flowing seamless curved display.

Rear-seat occupants seated in the swivelling rear seats, which we already know in Microbus and Caravelle, will in the BUDD-e be able to have a new in-car entertainment experience – rather than today’s small screens, the inner side window will show a big-screen display.