A prototype plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Volkswagen Transporter T7 has been spotted testing in Germany
In future, Volkswagen is expected to launch a new dedicated electric van separate from the Transporter, perhaps drawing inspiration from the Budd-e and ID.Buzz electric commercial vehicle prototypes.
This means there’s unlikely to be a fully electric version of the T7 Transporter as well, but as these pictures show, it will get plug-in hybrid power in order to compete with rivals like the Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid. There’s no technical data on the T7 Transporter hybrid available yet, but it will need an electric range in the region of 60 kilometres in order to match the Transit.
It could use a version of the 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol-electric powertrain already seen in Volkswagen Group’s passenger-car plug-in hybrids, such as the Volkswagen Golf GTE, Passat GTE and Arteon Hybrid, Skoda Octavia iV, Superb iV and Leon eHybrid, producing anything from 150kW to 180kW.
Stephen Errity