Volkswagen has unveiled a trio of concept cars ahead of the Shanghai motor show, previewing a dramatic expansion of its offerings in the crucial Chinese market.

Developed in collaboration with the firm's joint-venture partners SAIC and FAW, plus its sub-division headquartered in Anhui, the new cars form the backbone of a 30-model line-up that's due in China over the next two years.

The headliner is the ID Era, developed with SAIC, previewing Volkswagen's first car with a range-extender powertrain. It's a three-row seven-seat SUV similar to the existing Tayron that pairs a petrol-burning generator with a battery-electric powertrain for a combined range of more than 621 miles (1000km) with the fuel tank and battery brimmed. 

The other SUV in the trio is the ID Evo, developed by Volkswagen Anhui. It has been conceived as a sibling to the ID Unyx – the Chinese-market version of the Cupra Tavascan – but swaps that car’s rakish styling for a more conventional hatchback silhouette.

It packs an 800V electrical architecture, rather than the 400V system used by the ID Unyx, and a new zonal computer set-up that's said to enable a wide range of new digital services and rapid over-the-air software updates.

The final model is FAW-Volkswagen’s ID Aura, a small notchback saloon in the vein of the old Bora. It's aimed at buyers who would typically tend toward affordable A-segment city cars and will manifest the first car based on the new Compact Main Platform (CMP), which is aimed at the Chinese market.

Volkswagen has yet to publish specifics on each model’s powertrain but has confirmed that all are new-energy vehicles (NEVs), a Chinese term encompassing plug-in hybrids, range-extender EVs and battery EVs.

It added that each car is fitted with an AI-based autonomous driving system that will be capable of driving in so-called level-two-plus-plus mode next year, in which the car takes most of the controls but the driver retains much of the liability for keeping out of harm’s way. 

“In certain situations, cars will be able to drive fully autonomously, including overtaking and turning manoeuvres and independently merging into traffic, with the driver’s supervision,” Volkswagen said in a statement.