This is Sedric, VW’s newest concept for the future of autonomous driving. Sedric is fully autonomous, meaning it has no steering wheel or pedals, and it can be summoned at the push of a button for ride-hailing trips, a la Uber and Lyft. Volkswagen claims that Sedric is the first vehicle to be designed for fully autonomous driving “from scratch.” Of course, it’s important to note that Sedric is just a concept, meaning it does not exist anywhere but in the imaginations of a few VW engineers and designers. Which may explain why Sedric looks so angry. Cheer up, Sedric! Maybe someday you’ll be a real car.
Volkswagen says it’s using Sedric to highlight the importance of self-driving vehicles to the future of the company. The accompanying press materials are an alphabet soup of buzzwords like “individual mobility,” “sustainability,” and “cross-brand ideas platform.” But it’s hard to pay attention to that when this thing looks so much like a pissed-off toaster. Seriously, Sedric, you need to chill out. Too many people have road rage these days. We don’t need cars with road rage, too.
Despite Sedric’s seemingly irritable countenance, Volkswagen says it will serve as a “friend and companion” for your family. This appears to be part of a growing trend among automakers to transform the family vehicle into something akin to a pet. VW also claims Sedric can be summoned via this fancy button, which changes color and vibrates when the vehicle arrives. This is meant to guide people with impaired vision, which is one of the biggest selling points for fully autonomous cars. The company says that the Button is the link between the user and Sedric.
