Despite the fact that the design of the commercial vehicle has not yet been revealed, VW dealers in Germany are already accepting pre-orders for the new product. It will go on sale early next year.
The German brand Volkswagen is currently in the final stages of developing the next generation Transporter. Let us recall that this project was carried out as part of a collaboration with the American company Ford (the corresponding alliance was created back in 2020). Let us recall that the closest relative of this new VW model is the one-ton Ford Transit Custom van presented last year.
In the photo: a prototype of the new generation Volkswagen Transporter
The manufacturer continues to slowly and extremely sedately reveal the next generation Transporter van family. Let us remember that in December 2023, the future new product appeared in a camouflage film, and in May of this year, the manufacturer hinted at the design of the production version with a teaser. Even earlier, the company partially showed the interior and talked about the technology and modifications of the new family.
Now Volkswagen has published new photos of the interior of the future commercial vehicle and a number of details regarding the equipment. As a reminder, in the van's interior you can see a round steering wheel, like the VW T6.1, an infotainment system with a 13-inch touchscreen inherited from the «donor», and a 12-inch virtual instrument cluster with its own graphics.
Teaser of the new generation Volkswagen Transporter
This time, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles press service paid special attention to the panel with a horizontal row of “easy-to-use” physical buttons located under the multimedia touch screen. The company noted that the new Transporter starts without a key, using a button located next to the digital instrument panel. The eight-speed automatic transmission lever is located lower on the steering column (for a six-speed manual, it is still on the center console).
New photo of the interior of the next generation Volkswagen Transporter
In the center of the front panel there is a parking brake switch, which replaced the usual “handbrake”. The volume of the infotainment system can be adjusted using the buttons on the multifunction steering wheel or the classic “twist”. There are large cup holders in the front of the center console (depending on trim level). And in the upper part of the front panel there are both additional cup holders and compartments for storing small items.
As we reported earlier, the new van will be larger and more spacious compared to the current version. For the standard version, the length has increased by 146 mm and amounted to 5050 mm, and the distance between the axles has increased by 97 mm (up to 3100 mm), the width has increased by 128 mm and is now 2032 mm. The roof can be either standard or high, with the latter option available in combination with the standard wheelbase.
The extended version of the new Conveyor has a distance between the axles of 3500 mm and a length of 5450 mm. Maximum cargo capacity is 9 cubic meters. A van with a standard wheelbase and a high roof has a maximum useful volume of 5.8 cubic meters, a dynamic roof load of up to 170 kg, and a towed trailer weight of up to 2.8 tons.
In the photo: the cargo compartment of the new generation Volkswagen Transporter
The technology of the new product is the same as that of the “donor”. Thus, the range includes diesel engines, plug-in hybrid and all-electric power plants. In the first case we are talking about a 2.0-liter EcoBlue engine, which can produce 110, 150 or 170 hp. The plug-in hybrid system is based on a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine, which comes complete with an electromechanical CVT. The system includes a battery with a capacity of 16.5 kWh (useful capacity — 11.8 kWh). The total output is 233 hp, the power reserve when driving on electric power is about 50 km (according to the WLTP cycle). For “green” modifications, the electric motor is located on the rear axle, power is 116, 136, 218 or 286 hp. You can choose from batteries with a capacity of 54 or 84 kWh.
Previously, Volkswagen announced the starting price of the new generation Transporter: for a basic van in Europe they are asking for at least 36,780 euros (equivalent to approximately 3.39 million rubles at the current exchange rate).