German Car Scene

Volkswagen creates eT! research vehicle

Posted 18th November, 2011 in Volkswagen | Leave a comment

Volkswagen has unveiled its vision of the delivery van of tomorrow, with the eT! research vehicle. The eT! came about after the Wolfsburg giant got together with the Deutsche Post AG (the German Post Office) and Braunschweig’s University of Art to form a think tank on future transport.

Propelled by wheel hub motors, the lightweight commercial vehicle concept is a pure electrically powered Transporter, that would not only provide emissions-free urban motoring, but could be driven semi-automatically. Volkswagen believes the van could take commands from the driver, such as “Follow me”, which would see it keep up with the delivery person as they go from house to house, or a “Come to me” command that would see the driverless vehicle track its driver down (sounds a bit sinister).

Another nice touch is the sliding electric door that allows the driver to access the van from the passenger side and operate it via a ‘drive stick’. This, again, would help to drastically cut delivery times.

After making its début at Volkswagen’s Potsdam Design Centre of, the research vehicle will be analysed following a driving test study.

[Source: Volkswagen]