At the Auto Moto Show in Geneva, Volkswagen unveiled an autonomous concept car, called Sedric. Sedric is envisioned as your personal chauffeur, summoned conveniently with a simple press of a button. Easy, sustainable, convenient, and safe.
His name may sound quite human (resembling Cedric), but in fact 'Sedric' isonly short for 'self-driving car'. It is the first vehicle in the group to have been created for level 5 of autonomous driving, meaning it no longer requiers a human behind the steering wheel. Sedric will not only have one owner, as it's a universally usable shared mobility vehicle.
Its users will always carry a remote control with them, featuring the Button, the link between the user and Sedric. At the touch of the Button, they user only needs to wait Sedric to come and pick them up. The vehicle will come, recognize the user, open its doors and take the person to desired destination. The remote is also equipped with a feature that tells you how long you need to wait for Sedric to arrive.
Once inside and comfortably traveling, passengers can communicate with Sedric, just as they would with a personal assistant. They can talk about the destination, how to get there, the driving time, the current traffic situation, perhaps even about making a short break on the way. Also, passengers are free to do what they like during the drive, for example relax or sleep or enjoy the benefits of a windscreen that is in fact a big OLED screen with augmented reality that serves as a communication and entertainment center.
Devised, designed, developed and constructed in cooperation with the Future Center Europe of the Volkswagen Group in Potsdam and Volkswagen Group Research in Wolfsburg, Sedric will give a new sense of wellbeing and a welcome home feeling in the vehicle. With a design for 2 persons that can travel neatly sitted on a comfy couch in the back, 2 more can travel with them, albeit not as comfortably. Giving the extra home feeling is the use of natural birch leather used to upholster large surfaces.
And the powertrain? Sedric is a proper electric car with a flat battery pack that's been configured between the axles, while the compact electric motor was mounted at the level of the wheels, so quite low in order to leave more space available in the cabin.