Volkswagen has admitted that its Microbus concept is more than just window dressing, confirming that the compact six-seat MPV is based on what R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg described as “the MDS [modular design system] platform”.
Known up until now as the MQB, Volkswagen’s flexible new underpinnings will first be used underneath the third-generation Audi A3 before being used by a whole variety of VW Group models, including the Microbus, a concept version of which called Bulli was revealed at last week's Geneva show.
MDS’s wheelbase and track widths can be varied, allowing different versions of the Microbus “to make it feasible for different markets”. In the US it will be aimed at the XB produced by Toyota’s youth brand, Scion.
Hackenberg denied rumours that the retro-inspired MPV would be produced in Chattanooga, North America — the site responsible for the new global Passat. It’s more likely that it would be built alongside the Beetle in Puebla, Mexico.
Add your comment