Volkswagen of America Inc. has announced that the Volkswagen BUDD-e, an all-electric microbus, has been named “2016 Concept Truck of the Year” at the 15th Annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards, which was held in Plymouth, Mich., on July 31.
“We are determined to lead the future of automotive design, and BUDD-e shows the capabilities of our all-new electric vehicle architecture and further advances connectivity and infotainment,” says Hendrik Muth, director of product marketing for Volkswagen of America Inc., who accepted the award.
The first Volkswagen vehicle built using the company’s Modular Electric Toolkit, the BUDD-e features a 101 kWh battery, which gives a manufacturer-estimated range of up to 233 miles.
More than two-dozen jurors participated in the selection process of the North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards. Twenty vehicles – each introduced to North America during this season’s auto shows in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and New York – were judged.
The four award categories include the following: “Production Preview Vehicle,” “Concept Car,” “Concept Truck” and “Most Significant Concept Vehicle.” The BUDD-e beat out three other finalists in the “Concept Truck” category, which assessed vehicles with the primary attributes of user-configurable cargo volume and weight capacity. The “Most Significant Concept Vehicle” is chosen from among winners of the three other categories and is determined by the car with the highest total score.
