SUVs are likely to decline significantly in popularity when cars with autonomous technology become more mainstream, according to the head of design at Volkswagen.
The SUV market in Britain and other countries is currently huge and Volkswagen has a lot of models currently involved in this sector. As well as offering the likes of the Tiguan crossover and Touareg, most other car brands which VW own currently offer at least one SUV. Examples include the SEAT Ateca, Skoda Yeti, Audi Q5, Bentley Bentayga and Porsche Cayenne.
Despite all of this though, the head of design at VW, Klaus Bischoff, recently suggested that the time when cars on the market offer fully autonomous driving abilities (also known as Level Five autonomy) will see the SUV trend come to an end.
Speaking to Auto Express, Bischoff said: “Maybe SUVs will start to look old at some point and people will point at them and say, ‘He’s driving a dinosaur.’ We don’t see that now, but I strongly believe that we’re going to see much different vehicles when we get to Level Five autonomy, and then it becomes much more open.”
While virtually all autonomous car technology and concepts lately have noticeably centred around non-SUV models, there’s been little discussion on how the technology could be utilised for off-road driving, something a traditional SUV is set up for.
Volkswagen revealed its vision for a more autonomous future during the Paris Motor Show last month, with the I.D. Electric concept. The five-door hatchback is a fully-electric car roughly the size of a modern VW Golf which comes with a steering wheel that can retract into the dashboard and an automated driving function called I.D. Pilot.
Volkswagen says that the production version of the I.D. Electric Concept will be available to buy from 2020. It is estimated that fully autonomous capabilities will be available from 2025.
