Watch VW's mobile EV charging robot in action

It reminds us of R2-D2, but this robot won't accompany you on inter galaxy adventures. Instead, it tops up your electric vehicle's batteries. VW shares a teaser video of its prototype EV charging robot and how it'll do its work. The robot looks cute with its face that lights up when it grabs the battery trailer and plugs it into your car.

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Volkswagen showcases ID Roomzz concept at Shanghai Auto Show

We saw the teaser earlier this month but now we get a closer look at Volkswagen’s new electric car concept. The ID Roomzz expands the automaker’s electric car lineup into the full-size SUV territory. This concept is a three-row SUV that will be heading into production in 2021. VW has only committed to bringing this to China so far. Style-wise it looks similar to the smaller Crozz. It has 301hp dual motors and it has a range of 280 miles and goes from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds.

The ID Roomzz is designed with autonomous driving in mind and includes Level 4 autonomy (which is full self-driving in most conditions). The seats can recline and turn 25 degrees inward to create a “lounge-like” atmosphere when you let it take the will. The traditional dash is replaced by an all-glass panel with a giant infotainment display in the center. There are “interactive light zones” that show the info to everyone inside. We doubt this will make the initial production model, but it at least shows us where VW wants to take this tech.

Source: Engadget

Volkswagen calls its full-size electric SUV concept the ID ROOMZZ, because why not?

Volkswagen is going to be showing off its new electric car concept at the Shanghai Motor Show. And we’re sure you’ll remember it for its name. The car maker teased its sixth all-electric car and they’re calling this full-size electric SUV concept the ID ROOMZZ (yes, with two zeds). It’s in good (?) company when it comes to interesting names. The ID ROOMZZ follows the ID, ID Crozz, ID Buzz, ID Vizzion, and ID Buggy. Clearly, someone at VW loves to press the “z” key when they think up names for its all-electric concepts.

The name refers to the new seat configuration in this vehicle. According to VW’s Chief Designer Klaus Bischoff, “The ID ROOMZZ shows us what we can expect from full-size electric SUVs in the future.” The ID ROOMZZ offers case level 4 autonomy, which means it can drive itself “without an active driver.” It’ll also reportedly deliver “high-quality materials” and “customizable light.” A production-ready version is expected to debut in China by 2021.

Source: Top Gear

Volkswagen wants cars to communicate with each other starting 2019

Volkswagen plans to make its cars “talk” to each other starting 2019 as the German car manufacturer wants to equip its vehicles with public wireless LAN (pWLAN). This technology will allow cars and transport infrastructure to send messages to other cars with a distance of up to 500 meters. Cars can get information about things like traffic jams, accidents, or even other vehicles coming out of an alley. Volkswagen even wants to equip fire trucks and ambulances with pWLAN tech so you’d know where the sirens are coming from. With pWLAN, you don’t have to worry about getting a data plan either as it’ll send messages via pWLAN, which uses its own frequency band and not cellular networks. And since this complies with industry standards for cars, you can communicate with any car fitted with pWLAN.

Initially, the system will be limited to local information and warnings. As the tech rolls out, it’ll be getting more features like real-time traffic light monitoring and the info on emergency service vehicles.

Source: Engadget + CNET