Volkswagen has shown a new zero-emission I.D. concept in Paris. 

It starts the countdown to a 'new era' for VW, with the German brand hoping to launch a fleet of electric cars in the near future, aiming to get the I.D. ready to hit the road by 2020.

Dr Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management Volkswagen Brand explained: "In 2020 we will begin to introduce an entire family of electric vehicles on the market. All of them will be based on a new vehicle architecture which was specially and exclusively developed for all-electric vehicles. Not for combustion engine or plug-in hybrid vehicles. The I.D. stands for this new era of all-electric vehicles, for a new automotive era: electrical, connected and autonomously driving."

 Powered by a 125 kW / 170 PS electric motor, the I.D. has a range of 250 to 372 miles and will have a price based on the level of today's Golf. It will be the first Volkswagen on the market to be built on the newly developed Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB). The I.D. is positioned as a compact electric car with which Volkswagen aims to expand its range of high-volume models in parallel to best-sellers such as the Polo, Golf, Tiguan and Passat.

Featuring a completely new design language for electric vehicles it's shorter than a Golf, yet offers the space of a Passat - made possible by the new drive concept architecture with an electric motor on the rear axle and a high-voltage battery in the vehicle floor enabling more space and flexibility. At the same time, the I.D. already 'bridges over' to the year 2025 says VW as the I.D. is the first Volkswagen concept car to be fully autonomous in "I.D. Pilot" mode. The "I.D. Pilot" is activated by touching the VW logo on the steering wheel, which then disappears into the instrument panel and gives the driver an 'entirely new feeling of space'.

The conventional car key has been retired in the I.D. Instead, a smartphone will be used as a "Digital Key" to open the car and enable the vehicle to start. The idea is for individuals who drive a VW to get their own "Volkswagen ID". This ID is an individual profile that stores such information as personal seat and climate control settings, favourite radio stations and play lists, settings of the sound system, contact data for friends and business partners and the navigation system configuration. This profile is called up via the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud. The concept can also receive parcels using a new delivery service, if its owner isn't at home.