VW late to the party

DETROIT: Embattled German auto maker Volkswagen announced another step toward its corporate transformation on Monday, unveiling a new fully electric, autonomous prototype bus to join a coming family of electrified vehicles.

The reimagining of the iconic VW "hippy bus" popular in the 1960s and 1970s is expected to hit the roads at some point after 2020.

The plug-in concept van called the ID Buzz "stands for the new Volkswagen," Herbert Diess, head of the division which produces VW´s namesake cars, announced at the start of the Detroit auto show.

The van, a sleeker more futuristic version of the 20th century relative, embodies what Volkswagen aims to be: "modern, positive, emotional, future-oriented," he said.

But auto industry analysts say questions hang over the company´s efforts to reinvent itself after the emissions scandal known as "dieselgate" that involved one of the largest US consumer class action cases ever and eroded the company´s reputation.

Under a corporate plan announced in November, the company hopes to charge headlong into the already crowded American SUV market, develop new ride-hailing and digital technologies and begin producing millions of electric and hybrid cars over the next decade -- all sectors in which competitors have had lengthy head starts.