Volkswagen’s Project Trinity teases new sedan to launch in 2026

The iconic German automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen,  has recently announced its latest venture centered around electric mobility with promising new claims.

Dubbed, Project Trinity, Volkswagen aims to bring together the elements of a newly developed electronics platform with state-of-the-art software, the simplification of the supply structure, and fully networked and intelligent production - three crucial themes that will bring the company further ahead of the EV race. And while VW’s outline of its 2026 plan is short on specifics, it leaves room for an abundance of speculation.

Part of it’s ACCELERATE strategy, Project Trinity is the focal point of Volkswagen’s planned transition into becoming a software-driven mobility provider. According to Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, “Trinity is a sort of crystallization point for our ACCELERATE strategy, a lighthouse project, our software dream car.”

This flagship EV will run on a newly-developed vehicle architecture that looks to set new standards in terms of range, charging speed (“charging as fast as refueling”) and digitalization. Although we’re in for a long haul, we’re treated with a maquette of what could be the face of Project Trinity.

In addition, vehicles under Project Trinity will make autonomous driving accessible for many of its customers. Right after the planned launch of the series production in 2026, Trinity vehicles would have reached level 2+ with on-board hardware hot to trot for level 4 autonomous driving. By outfitting Trinity EVs with state-of-the-art autonomous driving technology, they can keep both drivers and passengers safe and relaxed during long and short trips.

“Trinity therefore becomes a kind of 'time machine' for our customers,” says Ralf Brandstätter. “We are using our economies of scale to make autonomous driving available to many people and to build a learning neural network. In this way, we are creating the conditions for the continuous exchange of data from our vehicle fleet – for example, on the traffic situation, on obstacles or on accidents,” he added.

To kickstart Project Trinity, VW will task its Wolfsburg plant to head the brand’s state-of-the-art, intelligent and fully networked production processes. According to Ralf Brandstätter, Volkswagen will completely rethink how they build cars. This includes looking on new and revolutionary approaches and the digitalization and automation of the entire process.

That said, we’re to see future EVs from Volkswagen sporting fewer variants with heavily standardized hardwares. And while this can significantly reduce complexity in VW’s future offerings, we can expect them to have virtually everything on board with the brand’s own take of an in-car digital ecosystem that promises customized and personalized features for each driver.

How is that possible?

“In the future, the individual configuration of the vehicle will no longer be determined by the hardware at the time of purchase. Instead, customers will be able to add functions on demand at any time via the digital ecosystem in the car,” explained Ralf Brandstätter. Volkswagen looks to use a software-based service allowing them to offer more attractive user packages as part of the brand’s ACCELERATE strategy.

Photos from Volkswagen

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