Volkswagen to show off self-driving concept

Volkswagen has unveiled the Sedric concept that will be the group’s first self-driving vehicle. For now, Sedric is just a concept and there is no information on when we can see this in metal. Which may explain why Sedric looks so angry. Sedric looks more like a box on wheels, but this is what helps create the feeling of a lounge within the backseat and what gives Sedric enough room to carry the luggage and bags of all four people within the auto itself. Here’s the video from the event.

VW envisions Sedric as part of a fleet of self-driving vehicles. “Audi and Volkswagen have always been pioneers in autonomous driving”.

Of course, that’s the point: it’s not a vehicle, or at least not in any way that we would recognise.

Based on what VW is saying about Sedric, it doesn’t seem like they mind the toaster look at all.

Naturally, there are many important caveats when discussing concept vehicles like this. That said, the interior layout shares a lot with the Volkswagen Passat, including metal elements that stretch right across the dashboard. It looks more like a ’70s-era cocktail lounge than your average transit van.

Nothing captures the imagination quite like a concept vehicle with a face and a silly name.

On-sale dates VW isn’t giving any specific on-sale dates for the concept, nor even suggesting a timeframe for its development, but rivals such as Mercedes and Ford have suggested that Level Five autonomy is at least a decade away, possibly even longer. That means you’ll be able to summon Sedric with a touch of a button no matter where you happen to be. Muller predicted that we would be seeing autonomous cars regularly in 2-3 years. “The Button is the link between the user and Sedric”, the company says.

Sedric was conceived, developed and built at the Volkswagen Group Future Center in Potsdam in collaboration with Volkswagen Group Research in Wolfsburg. The company plans to introduce more than 30 all-electric vehicles over the next 10 years, with a goal of selling two to three million of these EVs in 2025.

Renault and Nissan recently unveiled their own effort and now it’s time for Volkswagen to step in with a new concept called “Sedric”. In addition, this will also help the German brand improve its image that got affected due to the diesel emission scandal.

I’m sure at some point, somebody will hack it to talk dirty to you, too.