Volkswagen debuted the T-Prime Concept GTE in a world premiere at Auto China 2016 in Beijing. The T-Prime Concept GTE is a full-size sport utility vehicle with a plug-in hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive. Volkswagen’s new Curved Interaction Area is a completely new digital display and control concept.
The innovative curved infotainment display merges with the interactive displays and controls, resulting in a new human-machine interface (HMI) that is intuitive, precise, and fun-to-use. This SUV show car combines the best of many automotive worlds: the comfort and spaciousness of a saloon, the superior traction of an off-road vehicle, the agility of a sport sedan and—thanks to innovative drive technologies—the efficiency of a compact car.
In the future, Volkswagen wants to offer an exciting SUV in every relevant market segment. The product campaign starts this Spring with the global market launch of the new Tiguan which will also be offered with an extended wheelbase in certain markets. Following in car classes above it are a new mid-size SUV (for the USA and China), the successful Touareg and a vehicle in the style of the T-Prime Concept GTE.
Beneath the Tiguan, two new SUV model series will make their debut simultaneously: in the Golf class, there will be an SUV inspired by the T-Roc concept, and the T-Cross Breeze that was presented in Geneva shows the direction that will be taken in the Polo class (SUV).
SUVs are booming worldwide, and this is especially true in the segment of the large C-SUVs to which the T-Prime Concept GTE belongs. Forecasts for China predict 18 percent growth between 2017 and 2023; in Europe and Russia growth might even reach 26 percent.
Around the globe, annual volume of the exclusive SUVs will reach the milestone of two million unit sales around 2020. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE, Volkswagen is now responding to this trend by introducing one of the most advanced cars in the world.
The concept vehicle’s progressive interior reflects the desire for the digital capabilities of a new era. It is, simply put, a lot of fun to have a world of displays and controls that consist exclusively of touchscreens, gesture and voice control, touch-sensitive surfaces and shifting “by wire” that can always be used intuitively. The Active Info Display (interactive, digital instruments) and the screen of the infotainment system, which is curved for the first time in a vehicle, meld in the T-Prime Concept GTE to form the Curved Interaction Area—a multifunctional and interactive display landscape.
Meanwhile, an array of assistance systems ensures top levels of safety and convenience in the T-Prime Concept GTE. These systems contain numerous technologies, and they enable such processes as semi-autonomous parking.
