Sedric is the first concept car from the Volkswagen Group. And it is the first vehicle in the group to have been created for level 5 of autonomous driving – in other words, a person as a human driver is no longer required. Sedric was devised, designed, developed and constructed in cooperation with the Future Centre Europe of the Volkswagen Group in Potsdam and Volkswagen Group Research in Wolfsburg.
Sedric is the pioneer, the ideas platform for autonomous driving in the Volkswagen Group. And it is the “father” of numerous concepts for a new form of individual mobility. Soon, Sedric will also get “children” and “grandchildren” with the Group’s various brands. They will be created in typical designs for the brands and will feature tailor-made, customer-specific characteristics for equipment.
The idea of a simple form of individual mobility for everyone is linked to a universally useable vehicle and to an intuitive and easily understood control concept.
The Button is the link between user and Sedric. It is the key to a completely new mobility experience. This is because a single touch of the button guarantees mobility for everyone, at any time, and at any location. The control element is made of a button to press and a ring, which indicates Sedric’s arrival time with coloured signals and vibration signal that guides a person with impaired vision to the car.
The innovative control element functions as a universal mobility ID operating worldwide. On business trips or at a holiday resort, you just have to press a button and Sedric drives up as an autonomous shared mobility vehicle – just like when you’re at home.
The goals defined when developing Sedric were equally clearly defined as the entire mobility system: consistent reduction, very simple operation, completely intuitive handling.
Just press the Button, and Sedric comes along, precisely at the time indicated in advance. Sedric recognises its user and the two-part door opens. The opening is wide and high, making it easy for passengers to get in even with luggage. There is plenty of room for bags and suitcases in the generously proportioned interior.
The key difference to all other present-day automobiles is immediately tangible in the interior, because Sedric does not need a driver. The steering wheel, pedals and cockpit are therefore superfluous. This permits a completely new sense of well-being in the vehicle, a welcome-home feeling. Sedric is a comfortable lounge on wheels, equipped with carefully selected materials.
The 2+2 design of the interior makes optimum use of the vehicle’s floor area. The two rear seats act as a very comfortable couch. Fresh air to breathe and a good air-conditioning system are ensured in a particularly ingenious design. Sedric really does have green technology on board: air-purifying plants positioned in front of the rear windscreen enhance the effect of generously dimensioned bamboo charcoal air filters. 
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