From Electric To Driverless Cars, The Volkswagen Group Global Design Boss Reveals All

There are few titles within the creative car world quite as prestigious as heading the Volkswagen Group global design force. This is the position Klaus Bischoff has taken on as new executive director of design where he will orchestrate the creative paths for the 12 brands within the company to include VW, Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat, Ducati and the mobility provider MOIA.

Bischoff comes to this post internally, having been global design director for the VW brand since 2007. One of his main achievements there is undoubtedly envisaging the ID. cars. The concept cars work with digitalized cockpits to improve user-experience. They explore sustainable production methods and use imaginative material such as artificial leather made from apple juice production residue. This is a comprehensive family designed from the ground up to be electrically driven with the first of the series, the ID. 3, rolling out of production anytime soon.

We catch up remotely via Skype (due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown), as Bischoff explains how he hopes to navigate the brands within the VW Group towards the age of electrification.

Nargess Banks: This must be a strange time for you, starting this new pivotal role, yet in this most surreal of global lockdowns. How are you managing your various design teams and the global studios?

Klaus Bischoff: It is a little bit stressful as I’m under a lot of pressure to control the 12 brands remotely. At the same time, the lockdown has given me more time to think, as I’m obviously not going to the office or travelling.

NB: You have been instrumental in directing the VW brand’s sustainable transport strategy and the upcoming ID. cars. Their distinctive, yet modest design and closed front-end grille reference the marque’s design DNA and the Beetle and T1 bus, which to me remain such icons of design history. Do you see the ID. range as a chance to forge a new chapter for VW?

KB: My design department was asked to create an entire electric family and deliver the full array of products. We were asked to think broader (than the products). VW isn’t a start-up. We have so many products and businesses, so in a company like this you rarely get a chance to lay out your brand’s future. We knew we needed to shoot for something completely new when we came to plant this new tree of electric mobility. We began by identifying VW’s role - our purpose, our mission in this new world. Creating the ID. brand has been a lifetime experience. The decisions we’ve made, I feel, have been brave. It is a very different direction to what VW has done in the past.

NB: VW’s heritage is rooted in being the peoples’ car. From the start the company sought to introduce personal transport to the masses. How does this translate to the era of sustainable transport?

KB: We see VW’s role in similarly democratizing CO2-free mobility and making electric cars accessible to everyone. What we’re doing is not just about car design; we are looking deeper into the heart of the brand which impacts on our design approach. The design then needed to really stand out and be different from the other cars.

NB: How much freedom did the new architecture allow for utilizing the electric drivetrain format and thus creating these new forms? I mean this was an unusual project in that you designed the cars first and the production construction followed from there.

KB: Yes, we laid out the whole family before constructing the platform. The designs were roughly decided – body shape, proportions, etc. – which we presented to the management and the platform was created accordingly. We discussed the architecture, the technology and how this fed into the proportions – we then tidied up the design. Electric mobility gives designers greater creative freedom. With the combustion engine out of the way, we have more opportunities in shaping the cars, create clarity and purity, which feels closer to product design.

NB: How would you describe the ID. design language?

KB: The design is simple, pure and sympathetic. These cars are not meant to be aggressive. The best example is the ID.Buzz which is on its way to production. This is the type of mobility VW stands for: travelling with friends and family in a relaxed but super cool way. There has to be a timeless approach to the design of the ID. cars

NB: This element of timeless design to me seems an essential component of sustainable transport.

KB: Yes absolutely. It is on the “to do” list for VW to create products that last.

NB: The ID. collection really does tap into the various strengths of the VW brand, from a city commuter, to an SUV, a crossover, the minivan you mentioned and a performance car. Since you have already designed and engineered these vehicles, will we be seeing the family appearing in production quite rapidly one after the other starting with ID.3?

KB: That is the plan. The ID.3 will roll out in the next few weeks. The cars have already been in production so we are waiting for the software download and then they can go to customers. This will be followed quickly by ID.4 and ID.5, with the ID.Buzz entering production shortly afterwards.

NB: How close will the production cars be to these innovative concept vehicles?

KB: The show cars are a blueprint for what we’re aiming for. And since the reactions has been so overwhelming positive, their proportion and design language will be extremely close to the production series cars. There will be some modifications mainly due to cost and feasibility, as our main mission is to make these cars as affordable and accessible as possible.

NB: Your production methods, material use and the supply chain all seem to be sustainable and transparent. Do you see this holistic approach as an essential to the ID. family?

KB: The ID. Zwickau factory (in Germany) is emission free and a blueprint for the VW Group. The aim is for the cars to come to the customer completely CO2 free, including the battery and this was a strategic decision from the start. It extends to our supply chain so that all the materials will be sourced in a responsible way. We looked at recycling materials and ways in which we can dismantle and recycle the car as a whole.

One thing that’s important to note is that the value of an electric car is different to combustion engine vehicles in that the digital footprint of the car allows for updates over time, so maintenance cost is super low. We guarantee the lifetime of the battery over a distance of around 100,000 miles – or eight years of its lifetime, after which the customer returns it to us and it gets recycled. Once you get a new battery, the car lives on. The aim to look after the car’s full lifecycle.

NB: Does this new way of operating extend to the wider elements of VW as a company?

KB: Yes, it extends to our new brand design, new logo, the new way we talk to customers, user experience. It has been a truly holistic approach. A designer doesn’t often have the chance to recreate a whole brand from the ground up and it has been a very interdisciplinary and full project.

NB: Electric drive and the approaching era of autonomous transport requires a wider set of skills than would have possibly been necessary in former car design studios, were the focus was more on sketching vehicle design and sophisticated surfacing. With this mind what do you look for when recruiting for the creative team?

KB: I have more than 30 nationalities working in our 414 Volkswagen team alone and they are multi-disciplinary (1,600 work within the VW Group design teams). We started broadening our team some years ago, preparing for this new task of designing all types of products.

NB: Talking of which, what are your thoughts on the sound, the sonic side of the VW electric cars and do you see a distinctive voice for the ID. family?

KB: Our sound designers worked alongside the former rock star and music producer Leslie Mandoki to create a unique sound for the ID.3. And this will be the sound for the ID. family with each car having its own approach.

NB: In your new role as executive design director for the entire VW Group, how will you approach how each of these car brands enters electrification? After all they are all so different and with such distinctive brand personalities, strong heritages and with a very different customer profile.

KB: Each brand has its own role. The heads of each of the design department within the VW Group are strong personalities and they are in the best possible hands. My role is to orchestrate the overall direction, make sure they have the best possible teams, the best resources and to help create as much differentiation as possible between them all. I need to respect that each of these brands is different. My job isn’t to interfere with the design, but to help the overall design (story) unfold.

NB: Electrification and recyclability of the car are two strands of sustainable transport. Yet, so is the concept of private transport. Watching a metropolis like London, its streets cleared of motoring congestion and its skies clean and blue, it seems having too many cars on the road, even if they are electrically propelled, negates the whole concept of sustainability. Is there an argument for some of the brands within the VW Group to take on another role – offer a service for instance instead of making more private vehicles?

KB: We are looking at all types of future mobility. One of our brands MOIA has a large fleet in Hamburg offering electric transport on demand which is both private and shared. I agree in that cars will need to develop a certain intelligence to talk to one another and find better ways to navigate cities. But, of course, you’re right if we have too many cars, then the intelligence makes little difference.

NB: The current global pandemic has highlighted the urgency for rethinking how we live, work, travel in a much more holistic way, as well as reimagine our cities. Your educational background is in industrial design and your career has largely been in automotive and with VW. This historical episode must have impacted on your design thinking, on how you are processing the future?

KB: The coronavirus is making us rethink how we approach design. And yes, designers, architects and other disciplines need to work more closely together to reconsider our cities.

NB: Prior to this coronavirus pandemic, progressive strands within the automotive sector have largely promoted shared transport concepts, especially in urban environments. Does the reality of COVID-19 and the possibility of future global pandemics open up scope for rethinking the private space in transport?

KB: Shared mobility and public transport will most probably come under threat. The necessity to think about social distancing and disinfection will change the way we look at ride-hailing, taxis, shared mobility and public transport. For example, our electric ride-hailing service MOIA in Hamburg features privacy up to a certain degree and allows the driver to be separated from the passengers. Design needs to find answers to these new demands, not only on the concept side but also for materials and service. For sure privately-owned vehicles will see a renaissance and hopefully the transition to electric mobility will be speed up.

Read about Audi’s electric vision and Bentley’s take on sustainable luxury here.