There are many reasons for which Trinity is an important car not just for the VW core brand, but also for the entire Group. With the Passat-sized electric sedan, the German automotive conglomerate aims to cut production time to just 10 hours and match Tesla. Doing so will be possible by using fewer components as well as offering fewer configurations. In addition, the Trinity will be assembled using leaner production lines with more automation than ever before.

Trinity will also mark the debut for VW Group’s hugely promising SSP architecture that will eventually replace all existing EV platforms as well as those used by cars equipped with combustion engines. At the new factory in Wolfsburg, the company aims to make around 250,000 cars each year and these will be ready to meet level 4 autonomous driving criteria.

VW is promising a “much shorter charging time” compared to the current crop of EVs, along with a maximum range of over 435 miles (700 kilometers). The plant where Trinity will be assembled is going to be entirely carbon neutral and the car’s platform will go on to underpin over 40 million electric vehicles across the VW Group’s many brands.

It won’t have a traditional sedan body style as it will adopt a sleeker coupe-like silhouette in the same vein as the Arteon. Chances are VW is engineering the midsize Trinity as a more practical liftback rear instead of a regular trunk lid. Developing the EV and erecting the factory is going to cost approximately €2 billion, which works out to nearly $2.2 billion at current exchange rates.

When it does arrive in 2026, the VW Trinity will carry a starting price of around €35,000, according to a previous statement made by the core brand’s CEO Ralf Brandstätter. We also know it will do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than five seconds and charge the battery from 5% to 80% in as little as nine minutes.

Before the production version is unveiled, VW is expected to introduce a concept car, likely the one we’ve been seeing in these teaser images.

Source: Volkswagen

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But we knew that already, right? It’s the end of the video that caught our attention as VW is providing a sneak peek into its electric-focused future by signaling there’s “more to come.” The start of ID.5 and ID.5 GTX production in 2022 won’t surprise anyone, nor will the world premiere of the ID. Buzz in production guise. However, the last seconds of the clip are dedicated to Project Trinity.

The electric sedan with the sloping roofline of a silhouette will not go on sale until 2026, so we are wondering why VW has included the flagship EV in this official video entitled “Highlights 2021.” Perhaps a concept car is set to be unveiled in 2022 after the ID. Buzz that will break cover in the coming months. That would make sense considering we’ve already seen quite a few of these design sketches.

As a refresher, Trinity will ride on the VW Group’s SSP platform, which will be an evolution of the current MEB and upcoming PPE architectures. In a bid to cut costs and simplify production, the electric sedan will be available in fewer configurations compared to the company’s current products. The German brand has pledged to “completely rethink” the manufacturing process and will offer on-demand features through over-the-air updates. Unlocking functions will be done probably by either a one-time fee or paying a monthly subscription.

Speaking of tech, the VW Trinity will offer Level 2+ autonomous driving from day one, but the car will actually be ready to meet Level 4 requirements. Roughly 4.7 meters (185 inches) long, the EV will do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than five seconds and will have enough battery juice for more than 435 miles (700 kilometers) of range. Recharging from five to 80 percent is expected to take as little as nine minutes, with about half an hour of having the car plugged in resulting in 242 miles (390 km) of range.

It seems more likely a concept will arrive in 2022, some four years prior to the production model’s market launch. The final model could go by a different moniker since we believe Project Trinity is just the internal codename.

Source: Volkswagen News / Youtube

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You can tell it’s an EV by the impressively short overhangs at both the front and rear, allowing the engineers to push the wheels towards the vehicle’s extremities to maximize the wheelbase for greater interior room. The low-slung nose is typical of a car built on a dedicated electric car platform that doesn’t need a tall frontal area to accommodate an internal combustion engine.

The heavily sloped roofline seems to suggest we are looking at a more practical liftback than a typical sedan as the rear end seems to be too short for a traditional trunk lid. Therefore, Trinity could have a liftgate in the same vein as the Arteon, making it easier to maneuver cargo in and out of the vehicle. The absence of side mirrors indicates the car VW is hiding is a concept rather than a production model.

Likely to be built at a new factory near Wolfsburg, the next-gen EV will ride on an evolution of today’s MEB platform and should be about 4.7 meters (185 inches) long with enough space inside for five people. The company’s CEO Ralf Brandstätter has said it will carry a starting price of €35,000 and offer more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) of range based on the WLTP cycle. You can rest assured it will have fast-charging capabilities as VW is working on a setup that will recharge the battery from 5% to 80% in a mere nine minutes, meaning 29 minutes of charge should translate into approximately 390 km (242 miles) of range.

In terms of performance, Trinity will hit 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in less than five seconds. A level 2+ autonomous driving system will be ready at launch, but the vehicle will technically support level 4. VW will also implement new software for the infotainment system and is expected to offer on-demand features, allowing owners to unlock functions post-purchase by paying a subscription courtesy of over-the-air updates.

As to when the car will be unveiled as a concept, the premiere could take place in 2022 seeing as how VW has already published quite a few teasers. The production model due four years later is probably set to go by another moniker since Trinity is the internal codename for the ambitious EV project.

Source: Volkswagen

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Speaking to the media, Ralf Brandstaetter mentioned the possibility of assembling the Trinity at a new high-tech factory located near the headquarters in Wolfsburg. It would be an alternative to revamping the current plant to support the production of VW’s hugely promising EV. However, a final decision might not be taken until December when VW Group shareholders will review the plan of expenditures for the next five years.

Provided it will be getting the proverbial green light, the new facility in Germany will have an annual production capacity of approximately 250,000 vehicles. VW mentions it would actually be easier to build a brand-new factory compared to adapting an existing plant for the electric sedan codenamed Trinity. Whatever decision it will take, company officials have previously stated the target is to assemble the EV at a rate of 10 hours per car.

That would mirror Tesla’s plan to put together a Model 3 at the newly established factory near Berlin, representing the company’s first factory in Europe. VW is well-aware the Palo Alto electric car manufacturer is consistently improving its manufacturing process and that it needs to catch up in order to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging electric car market.

Establishing a new factory from the ground up would allow VW to continue production of the best-selling Golf and its Tiguan equivalent crossover in Wolfsburg without any interference that might be caused by adding the Trinity to the assembly line. Both cars have been confirmed to get new generations later this decade and will be among the last models to still offer internal combustion engines, but even those will probably be heavily electrified.

Source: Automotive News

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It’s not a lot to go by at this point, but then again, the all-electric sedan won’t be going on sale until 2026. The 360-degree tour does show the EV from all angles for the first time, confirming its swoopy roofline akin to the Arteon on sale today or the CC it replaced. It looks like it won’t be a sedan in the traditional sense of the word because the car gives the impression it boasts a more practical liftback / hatchback configuration.

Technical specifications are shrouded in mystery, although we do know the Trinity will ride on the VW Group’s upcoming Scalable Systems Platform. SSP is seen as the direct successor of the MQB, MSB, and MLB architectures developed for combustion-engined cars, but also the replacement for the electric-only MEB. In addition, SSP will eventually replace the Premium Platform Electric, which hasn’t even debuted yet. PPE will premiere next year with the Audi Q6 E-Tron and Porsche Macan EV.

SSP will debut in 2026 with the Trinity and will help the German automotive conglomerate drastically reduce complexity and speed up development. To make it happen, the VW Group will be investing no less than €800 million in a new R&D facility at home in Wolfsburg where the SSP is being prepared. These new EVs will also take advantage of software stack 2.0, encompassing a unified operating system and level 4 autonomous driving capabilities.

In the long run, the VW Group aims to cut its carbon footprint per vehicle by 30% over its life cycle by the end of the decade compared to 2018 levels. By 2030, the goal is for EVs to account for half of the group’s sales, with the percentage growing to almost 100% by 2040 in the firm’s major markets. Ultimately, the VW Group hopes to reach carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Meanwhile, VW believes fully electric vehicles and internal combustion ones will reach margin parity within the next 2-3 years as higher CO₂/Euro 7 costs and tax disadvantages will eat into the profit margins of conventional gasoline and diesel cars.

Source: Volkswagen

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VW is not ignoring the once traditional body style as “Project Trinity” as it is known internally will be a four-door car with a proper trunk and it will cost from €35,000. That’s about $42,500 at current exchange rates. The reveal was made by the man in charge of the VW core brand, Ralf Brandstaetter, in an interview this week with the German magazine Welt am Sonntag. While it’s too early to talk about technical specifications, VW’s boss did say the “dynamic and streamlined car” will be a little over four meters (157.4 inches) long, so shorter than a Jetta or a Passat.

Its final name is not known for the time being, but “Trinity” will be positioned above another electric sedan VW is working on, codenamed “Aero.” It’ll be a long wait as the company’s range-topping EV is not scheduled to arrive before 2026. When it does hit the market, the electric sedan to be built in Wolfsburg will have support for over-the-air updates and a level 3 semi-autonomous driving system.

Meanwhile, an entry-level electric car positioned below the ID.3 will be launched by the middle of the decade, priced from as low as €20,000 ($24,300). In the same interview, VW’s boss revealed the ID.3 and ID.4 will be getting their first over-the-air updates in the first half of 2021. Ralf Brandstaetter proudly said VW is the only mainstream brand to push OTA updates, though he admitted there were some software issues with the two electric vehicles at launch.

Source: Welt am Sonntag

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