When former Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piech left the company’s supervisory board in a huff, it was the culmination of a power battle between himself and parts of the family on the one side, and the Porsche branch of the family, the workers council, and current CEO Martin Winterkorn on the other. One of the criticisms voiced by Piech was the lack of creativity and vision at VW.
Winterkorn seems to have taken the criticism to heart, and in an extended interview with the German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, he not only announced a long-awaited low-cost car, but something far more radical: A three-wheel electric scooter, designed to be a Segway competitor but far less costly.
The diminutive three-wheeler is supposed to function as a “last-mile surfer,” taking people to their final destination after they have left their car—or even the train. With a weight of around 24 pounds and an electric range of 12 miles, it will provide simple mobility. A few styling elements actually are designed to resemble the Volkswagen XL1, which ironically was a pet project of Piech’s. The foldable scooter is supposed to come to market by the second half of 2016 and cost less than 1000 euros.
The project proves what a motivated workers council can achieve: It was actually initiated and financed by the worker council’s “innovation fund.” Winterkorn’s enthusiastic response comes as a surprise to some observers, as he was not always a fan of new mobility concepts. The 2011 Volkswagen NILS EV and Audi Urban Concept vehicles were killed not least because of Winterkorn’s lack of enthusiasm.
So far, however, there is no word on a U.S. launch of the “last mile scooter.” Looks like Paul Blart will be stuck on his Segway for a while longer.
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