Volkswagen To Debut New Electric Concept Car At CES 2016 On January 5th

Volkswagen will be unveiling a new all-electric concept car during a keynote address given by one of its execs at CES 2016 in January 5th, according to recent reports.

The keynote address is set to be given by Volkswagen’s head of passenger cars, Dr Herbert Diess, and will broadly explore the company’s post-scandal direction, in addition to revealing the new concept car.

“We welcome Herbert Diess to CES to share Volkswagen’s vision for the future, including the company’s commitment to sustainability,” stated Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES. “We are pleased Volkswagen will use the CES stage to unveil a concept car displaying its latest developments in safe and energy-efficient electric vehicles consistent with VW’s long history of innovation in the driving experience.”

Nothing much has been revealed about the new electric concept car beyond what’s stated above, so it’s looking likely that we’ll have to wait until January 5th to learn anything more. Rumors are that the model may be a new electric Phaeton or a next-generation Golf, though.

Digital Trends provides more:

As the company has done at every major event following Dieselgate’s ugly introduction in September, Diess is expected to touch on the continuing controversy surrounding VW Group’s diesel products. Thus far, emissions-fooling “defeat devices” have been found in nearly 500,000 2.0-liter TDIs in the United States, with a total of 11 million affected cars worldwide. The device has also been found on the group’s 3.0-liter TDI V6, which powers multiple vehicles from VW, Audi, and Porsche. Most recently, the automaker has come under investigation by German authorities for tax evasion related to inaccurate emissions claims, which could have led to the company paying less than it should have.

So, in other words… the more positive PR that the company can get, the better. The company’s image has taken a real beating. Luckily, it looks like it will all spur on a faster transition to clean electric cars, at Volkswagen at least.