Dieselgate and Defeat Device - the last four years have been marked by allegations against Volkswagen. But you have learned from the past to catapult yourself into the future with one big throw. The Beetle was once the car of the economic boom and with over 15 million assembled cars in 1972 it even overtook the Model T. In this deep crisis, the Golf I appeared with smooth sheet metal and water-cooled front-wheel drives. From then on, the Golf was the epitome of a new vehicle class. In the current situation, Volkswagen has tackled the next big thing, the release of the electrification kit (MEB) for third-party providers.
The concept of the modular electrification kit was presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show. According to Volkswagen, with the release of the building block, the MEB will be widely distributed and the costs of e-mobility will be reduced through scaling. The VW Group is currently planning 15 million pure electric vehicles in the first phase. As the world's first external partner, the Aachen-based e.GO Mobile AG is to use the electrification kit to bring the Volkswagen model range to the market. A specific vehicle project is currently being planned. With the ID. At the Geneva Motor Show, BUGGY is already showing Volkswagen the variability of the MEB, even for small series, which can be easily and cheaply implemented.
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the AG, expects: “We have proven that we are platform professionals with our modular transverse matrix. Over 100 million of our vehicles are based on this platform. With the MEB platform, we are transferring this successful concept into the electric age and opening up to third parties. The MEB is to be established as the standard for e-mobility. On this basis, we make individual mobility CO2-neutral, safe, comfortable and accessible for as many people as possible. Because even emotional small series vehicles like the ID. BUGGY can be implemented easily and inexpensively on the basis of MEB. I am pleased that in e.GO we have found the first partner who will use our electrification kit as the basis for a vehicle project to be determined jointly. "
Volkswagen cooperates with e.GO Mobile AG
E.GO Mobile AG is already producing the "Life" model and is one of the pioneers in the electrification of small cars in Germany. The production should very flexibly place various cost-effective and customer-oriented electric vehicles for short-haul traffic on the market.
According to Volkswagen, 2019 is a key year of the e-offensive, which is to be accelerated further in the coming years. In Geneva, the Volkswagen Group is showing numerous e-vehicles and e-studies, such as the Audi e-tron GT, Skoda Vision iV, SEAT Urban Car or the ID. BUGGY. Volkswagen plans to invest around 44 billion euros in electrification, digitization, mobility services and autonomous driving by 2023, 30 billion euros of which in e-mobility alone. By 2025, electric cars are expected to make up around a quarter of the model portfolio.
The release of the MEB platform for third-party providers is a clear response to the successful strategy of the suppliers Bosch and Continental, who have already placed their drive concepts on the market. The advantage of the modular system is the complete delivery of the chassis and the drive. The new players can concentrate on the vehicle concept.
Addendum
Sources: VW / e.GO Mobile AG
Cover picture - Volkswagen ID. BUGGY show car - Copyright Volkswagen
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