Volkswagen has teased Project Trinity, an upcoming yet-to-be-named all-electric sedan that appears to be a flagship vehicle. The name of the project is derived from three themes: state-of-the-art technology, simplification of the supply structure, and fully networked intelligent production at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant where the car will be built.
“Trinity is a sort of crystallization point for our ACCELERATE strategy, a lighthouse project, our software dream car,” says Volkswagen brand CEO Ralf Brandstätter. “The newly developed vehicle architecture will set standards in terms of range, charging speed (“charging as fast as refueling”), and digitalization.
The production sedan being developed under project Trinity will be the catalyst for making autonomous driving accessible for everyone, according to Volkswagen. Project Trinity will be a level 2+ autonomous vehicle that can be upgraded to a level 4 when it goes into production in 2026. Brandstätter states that Volkswagen is using economies of scale to make self-driving technology available to the masses and to build a network that allows cars to exchange data to learn of crashes or road hazards before they get to them. That results in a safer driving experience and lessens the stress during long drives, according to Brandstätter.
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Manufacturing processes will also change at the Wolfsburg plant because of Project Trinity. Volkswagen plans to introduce more digitalization, automation, and lightweight construction to completely rethink the production process and make sure it’s fully networked.
The development process will also become software-based, meaning Volkswagen is creating a new data-focused business model. Hardware will no longer cement a vehicle’s features. That allows owners to turn on software-based functions whenever they want to and pay for it after they’ve purchased the vehicle, allowing Volkswagen to make revenue from it afterward.
