What is Volkswagen’s Trinity Project?
The electric car is the vehicle of the future. There is no room for doubt in this regard because not only is it a question of technological advancements, but also governments are putting pressure on it, particularly in the EU, which is the birthplace of large automotive groups.
On the other hand, there is the influence of advertising: even though there is skepticism among customers, driving an electric car gives the impression that you are contributing to protecting the environment.
Because of this, we must reiterate that the future will be electric.
Hybrids, specifically mild ones, are currently dominating the market for automobile sales.
Why? Nobody takes any risks, not the seller, not the buyer. If the electric motor cannot be used because it does not provide sufficient autonomy, the combustion engine can be used instead.
It is necessary to acknowledge that these results are somewhat implausible, considering that an Audi A8 with an ECO label can achieve CO2 emissions of 258 g/km.
But that is not going to be discussed in this article at all. We stated that the major manufacturers have been looking for solutions to avoid bringing pure electric cars to market that would have no route because there are not enough chargers on the map.
Are you prepared to uncover the mysteries surrounding Volkswagen’s Trinity Project?
Volkswagen’s Trinity Project is at the forefront of the race toward all-electric vehicles.
A new company needed to commit to creating an electric and functional car because the project needed to be revamped, and the company required ambitious goals.
Tesla is a name that needs no introduction at this point. There are already vehicles on the roads of many cities that are as eye-catching as the Tesla Model 3, a high-quality and fully electric sedan.
Today, we tend to associate this kind of vehicle with Elon Musk’s hand, but the reality is that this vehicle opened the door for new suggestions.
The challenge with electric vehicles is that they are prohibitively expensive for the average consumer and have a limited range because the energy charge is so high (unlike refueling gasoline).
As a result, this will become the battleground for the major corporations. Journalist JF Calero, who contributes to the Youtube channel Carwow.es, was curious as to why people want to build cars with such a high level of autonomy when, in most cases, people only drive their vehicles for short distances of less than 50 kilometers.
The most important thing to understand is that we relate long trips in our heads to driving in a car, and even though we never leave the city, we often think about what would take place if we were forced to travel a great distance for some reason.
Therefore, we will require fuel-efficient automobiles, or else this will be for naught.
This is where the Volkswagen group comes in with its Trinity project: years of research to deliver an extremely efficient electric car.
The ultimate electric vehicle. And now, we will examine the four struts that are present.
1. Every one of the project’s resources
The company’s CEO, Herbert Diess, announced at the beginning of 2021 via a tweet that, following the NEO project, the Trinity project would be launched, which would revolutionize Volkswagen.
In addition to this announcement, we have been provided with a picture of a car that is partially obscured by a veil. This image hints at the surprise they have in store for us.
The Neo project made it possible to develop ID models, which are electric vehicles that meet the requirements set forth by modern-day society.
Prices start at 36,000 dollars and average autonomies of 300 kilometers (real, although the homologation has reached 550 kilometers).
Notwithstanding this, it is possible that the NEO project will not be sufficient because Audi, Mercedes, and Tesla are all working hard to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Therefore, in parallel, they have invested a great deal of time and money so that the Wolfsburg factory can produce a new, more elongated car with a daring design and a shallow center of gravity.
Using an electric motor in conjunction with a neural control network will be crucial.
The fact that it will be produced in Wolfsburg is significant for several reasons, the most important of which is that it indicates they will not permit themselves to make mistakes or accept criticism.
The city in Germany is the brand’s flagship location, and it is proposed that the flagship vehicle be produced there. This is not simply another example to follow. It will be the primary model, and new designs will be developed with it as their foundation.
The big question is when the car that Trinity created will be available on our roads.
Those most upbeat about the future mention the year 2026, but they will have to be sure that the outcome will be satisfactory.
2. Freedom of space and independence
But what exactly can we look forward to at this point?
The teasers that have been released hint that the new vehicle will be an all-electric sedan with a shallow platform, which will also bring the vehicle’s center of gravity closer to the surface of the ground.
The model will be based on the scalable SSP platform, which, when combined with high-quality control software and a battery placed between the axles, has the potential to achieve a power of approximately 200 kWh.
This is significantly more than what is currently possible. To put it another way, we could talk about having autonomy of up to 700 kilometers. Sufficient for any activities.
It has been speculated that they will look for ways to increase the amount of space available inside the passenger compartment.
With either one or two trunks, Tesla models have been designed to have a large amount of space for storing luggage.
However, we already know that increasing weight decreases our overall energy efficiency.
As a result, the Trinity is working to improve its comfort and can serve as a practical vehicle for families and couples.
And here comes the unexpected part. Many people believed that Volkswagen would only concentrate on developing an effective electric vehicle.
However, we have previously mentioned that they had placed all of the meat on the grill: Trinity will have a level of autonomous driving called type 3.
They were familiar with the American company Tesla and its Autopilot system, but the company had only achieved level 2 of autonomous driving.
And we had the impression that it was already something quite advanced.
On the other hand, we have advanced one level at this point.
What does this point to exactly? After reaching level 3, you can remove your hands and eyes from the wheel.
If the system prompts the driver to do so, they must focus on regaining control of the vehicle. At Level 4, it is already assumed that the driver does not even have to pay attention to the road.
At this point, all that is left for us to do is evaluate the aesthetics and determine where exactly it fits in the catalog.
There was a gap in Volkswagen’s lineup between the illustrious Golf and the Passat, and that gap needed to be filled by a sedan with sporty overtones.
They attempted to do it with the Jetta, but it did not work out, and that model has since been discontinued.
The starting price will never be lower than 35,000 $. It is still too expensive for many people’s pockets, so many households will need to hold off.
However, by 2026, individuals who have the financial means to purchase a car in the mid-to-upper-range price range will have access to a desirable vehicle that will have eliminated a significant number of the disadvantages associated with electrics on the market today.
3. Exclusive use of proprietary software
Volkswagen needed to bring out an electric vehicle that consumers would accept quickly.
Hence, it came up with the ID.3 under the umbrella of the NEO project, but with software developed by various developers.
This allowed Volkswagen to meet its deadline. They saved the first match ball, but Diess is talking about an overtaking of NEO because they have created a team of more than 10,000 programming professionals to make their software. This is the reason Diess is talking about an overtaking of NEO.
This method is preferable from a logistical standpoint. It allows the company to market and sells the software to other manufacturers, which is something that Tesla and other companies have been doing for years.
Batteries, additional vehicle services, connectivity, and 5G will all fall under the purview of this centralized software. There is no doubt that it will be a very cutting-edge system.
4. A brand-new method of manufacturing
The ultimate objective is to produce the most significant number of units with the fewest possible defects.
The production carried out by Tesla is plagued by the issue that Elon Musk, despite his efforts to replicate the Fordist production system, has not been successful in putting an end to the high percentage of defective vehicles produced by his assembly line.
Why does something like this occur? Because the production line does not stop until it reaches the end of its run in his factories. They can produce a large number of units.
Still, in contrast to manufacturers of other brands, they are required to perform extensive maintenance on each vehicle to the point where they have established a solely devoted facility to the maintenance and repair of Tesla vehicles.
Volkswagen’s goal is to lessen the complexity of the production process by reducing the number of components that comprise an electric vehicle.
Because of this, it will be possible for machines to manufacture the entire car or almost the whole vehicle, which will remove the element of human intervention from the production chain.
The second possibility is that production could be spread out. If it were possible to devise a quick and efficient assembly method, the logistics and transportation of vehicles would become much more cost-effective.
Each factory or center would be responsible for producing a unique component. To summarize, the Trinity project is fascinating, and during the next five years, we will watch closely to see what explanations the German brand provides for us.
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