Tesla hunter to be build at VW commercial vehicle plant
Report says model will spawn variants for three VW top brands
Volkswagen Group is planning a new electric luxury flagship, models of which will be sold under multiple brands in the company’s portfolio including Audi, Porsche, and Bentley. The model is being developed under the name Landjet, says German business publication Handelsblatt.
It’s to be a showcase of the electrified technology that the VW Group is capable of, says the report, with the development starting as part of the Artemis special projects team at Audi. The report calls the new model a Tesla Hunter, set to sit atop the Audi A8 as that automaker’s new flagship.
Series production for the car is set for 2024, says the report, and it will arrive as a Porsche and a Bentley, though this one is looked at as being too much for VW (despite previous flagship attempts with the Phaeton).
We said “luxury flagship” and these days that means it’s probably going to be a crossover. Handelsblatt says three rows of seats and “correspondingly large.” So large, that it won’t be built at a regular Audi factory. Instead, it will be built at a VW plant in Hanover, Germany, which is currently home to the VW Transporter and other large commercial vans. VW Group said Friday it would be building three D-SUV models at the Hanover plant for other group brands.
A range of more than 600 km is anticipated, as well as for the Porsche and Bentley models to arrive later than the Audi. This timeline works well with Bentley’s just announced plans to have its first EV launch in 2025 on the way to full electrification by 2030.
