Volkswagen previews all-electric Passat replacement

Having given us a pair of electric SUVs (the ID.4 and ID.5), an electric hatchback (the ID.3) and possibly the coolest of all, an electric MPV (the ID.Buzz) Volkswagen is now turning its attention to the (relatively) humble saloon and is about to give us an electric Passat.

Well, not right away — this ID.Aero is still technically a concept car, although it gives us a very good idea of what the forthcoming electric replacement for the Passat saloon will look like. That car — which may yet be badged as ID.Aero in production, or which might take the ID.7 badge (ID.6 is already taken by a larger Chinese-market-only SUV) will go on sale in China towards the end of this year, before coming to the US and Europe later in 2023.

Range

“With the ID. AERO show car, we are revealing a preview of the next member of the ID. family. A car with an emotional and at the same time extremely aerodynamic design, a range of over 600 kilometres, an extraordinary amount of space and a premium interior,” says Ralf Brandstätter, chief executive officer of Volkswagen’s passenger car operations. “With our Acceleratestrategy, we are intensively driving forward the electrification of our model range. Following the ID.4, this model will be our next global car for Europe, China and the US.”

The concept is actually considerably bigger than a Passat, measuring just about 5.0-metres long. You can think of it as a more refined, more production-ready version of the ID.Vizzion concept car that was shown way back in 2018, and the ID. SpaceVizzion estate concept from 2019.

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Underneath, the Aero gets the same MEB platform as you’ll find under the ID.3 and ID.4, as well as those cars’ maximum 77kWh battery capacity. The extra range of 620km compared to an ID.4 — which can squeeze a maximum of 520km out of a full charge — is explained by the car’s lower, sleeker profile which results in a coefficient of drag of just 0.23Cd. That’s a sufficiently impressive figure to justify the car’s Aero name, although it’s behind what Mercedes is able to bring its EQE and EQS models down to. Those have a drag figure of just 0.20Cd. Mind you, the VW’s range figure is not far off that of the EQE’s, with a much smaller battery in a car which is physically of similar size, which is impressive.

To enhance that low drag figure, VW has replaced traditional door mirrors with sleeker cameras pointing at the back, while the door handles have been swapped out for illuminated touch surfaces. Beyond those touches, the styling is recognisably that of the existing ID family — a bluff nose, and the sweeping roofline from the ID.5.

European production of the ID.Aero will begin — chip crisis allowing — at VW’s Emden plant, almost on the Dutch border near Bremen, in 2023. That factory currently builds the Passat and Arteon, but VW has not yet said if those two cars will continue alongside the new electric saloon.