Carmaker Volkswagen has unveiled the Gen.E research vehicle at a Future Mobility Days event in Germany. What is this all about?

Usually, car companies make a big announcement at one of the motor shows or dominate the online space when it comes to concept vehicles. This Gen.E concept surprised everyone by making a relatively low-key arrival at the 2017 Future Mobility Days event.

Not much is known about the vehicle other than the fact it's used extensively for research. It resembles a Golf three-door hatchback with clever aerodynamics to enable it to slip through the air with less resistance. It features specialised alloy wheels, door handles that retract into the body and sit flush, futuristic LED running lights and a charging port on the bonnet.

It's built on a lightened platform, which Volkswagen claims is optimised for crash safety. Being an electric car, it has an advanced lithium-ion cell battery and a claimedrange of 400 km.

The Gen.E forms part of Volkswagen's plans for the future. There's a massive plan afoot with autonomous driving and cleaner propulsion systems, but these will take time to be rolled out.

According to the Wolfsburg-based brand's press release: "electric automobiles powered by battery will naturally be the focal point for the coming years, but many new ideas are also being explored in the area of hybrid drives." Does this mean Volkswagen will go the route of Toyota and opt for petrol-hybrid engines?

Safety is also a massive focus for the Volkswagen Group and it came up with Vision Zero – the vision of accident-free driving, mobility without any traffic deaths. Autonomous driving is arguably the biggest topic in the transportation world at the moment and Volkswagen is not just focusing on the passenger vehicle market.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen AG's truck brands such as Scania and MAN, as well as its own VW Commercial Vehicles are working on autonomous cargo transportation systems.

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