Volkswagen has announced that it will make a new generation of the Volkswagen Crafter large van starting in 2028.
The new model will use a brand new platform made by Volkswagen, ending speculation about the relationship with Ford and a shared platform large van.
It will form part of the new SPACE family of vehicles that Volkswagen intends to develop and will be based on the Volkswagen Group SSP platform. This will see a new wave of B and C segment vehicles launched with both cargo and passenger versions.
“For the first time in our history we will be building out own scalable commercial vehicle platform,” explained VWCV CEO Carsten Intra.
“Based on the group SSP platform we will use it to develop vehicles in the B and C segments. The Space family, for people and for goods. We have great expectations in terms of this new development. On the one hand we are strengthening our commercial vehicle expertise, but also gaining planning certainty, way into the next decade.”
Intra implied that the new models would be manufactured at sites in both Germany and Poland, giving more certainty to the future of the current Crafter factory in Września, Poland as a commercial vehicle manufacturing site. The SPACE family of vehicles will all be electrified, with the SPACE name having previously been used for the ID SPACE VIZZION concept, a family car shown in 2019. The first vehicle in the Space family will be an all electric Crafter van. Volkswagen have previously sold a Volkswagen e-Crafter, although it was never produced in right-hand-drive for the UK market.
“With the SPACE programme we are supporting the three major dimensions of sustainability in the long term. Environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate profitability,” Intra added.
The SPACE line-up will also help contribute to achieving a BEV share of more than 55% by 2030.
“By 2025 we want to supply the VWCV production sites with 100% green electricity and by the end of 2025 reduce the environmental impact of our production by more than half compared to 2010. We’re rethinking commercial vehicles and providing planning stability well into the next decade,” Insta said.
He added: "Our strategy is that we want to fill our plants with EV-specialised vehicles. The next step is coming in in 2028 with the two tonne [Crafter], and then we will develop more."
Speaking at a briefing after Volkswagen's annual results in which VWCV posted record profits, Intra also said VW will launch a fully autonomous passenger moving services in 2026 with its partners and expect to launch a special vehicle in the early next part of the decade to grow their autonomous brand.
Volkswagen, yesterday, revealed the first details of the latest Crafter which will get an extensive interior refresh when it goes on sale later this year.
