Volkswagen has officially confirmed its R performance sub-brand will produce only fully electric cars by the end of the decade, following the overall Volkswagen strategy of becoming a completely EV manufacturer by 2035.
As reported by Autocar, Volkswagen says its performance arm is “gradually converting its portfolio, with several electric R models in the planning stages” and had already begun development of several concepts and models.
Expect the first of these to be based on Volkswagen’s ID models, such as the anticipated ID.3 GTX (pictured above) and other faster versions of its new EVs.
Volkswagen will use tech from previous electric car forays, like the wild VW ID R which remains the record holder for the Pikes Peak hill climb, having dispatched the infamous 20km course in just 7:57.148 in 2018.
“In order to become a fully electric brand by the end of the decade, we’re already taking the necessary steps today for the forthcoming transformation,” head of Volkswagen R Reinhold Ivenz told the English publication.
“The globally successful products from Volkswagen R are part of this exciting change process and will stand in [the] future for sustainable electric mobility.”
Autocar adds that Volkswagen will build its next generation of R models on the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), which will become the group’s only platform for EVs.
It’s expected this means there won’t be any electric R versions of current petrol Volkswagen models like the Golf or Polo, nor any of VW’s more traditional SUVs like the Touareg.
Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the new T-Roc R, Volkswagen Australia’s director of passenger vehicles, Michal Szaniecki said we can soon expect to begin to see the first moves into the EV space from R, even here in Australia.
“There is a much more exciting chapter to come in what R means when it comes to our ID electric models. We are now agreeing with HQ in Germany on the start date for all of our ID range, this will include the GTX versions,” he said.
“We’re looking at a redefinition of what our performance range looks like. These X models will probably take the role of both GTI and R in the future. There will still be a clearly defined performance variant at the top of the range for each of the ID models, but expect it to be a much more simplified line-up.”
“Expect a kind of stripped-down enthusiasm,” Mr Szaniecki added. “Let’s put it this way, it’s unlikely we’ll see something like a Polo or T-Cross R.”
Keyword: Volkswagen R to go fully electric by 2030 with new models already in development - report