Volkswagen launches Electric for All campaign, production of Volkswagen ID. electric car to begin 2019
- World premiere of the modular electric drive matrix (MEB) in Dresden
- Brand Board Member for E-Mobility Thomas Ulbrich: “The MEB is one of the most important projects in the history of Volkswagen – a technological milestone, similar to the transition from the Beetle to the Golf”
- 10 million electric vehicles across the Group based on the MEB, claims VW
- Brand plans to sell 150,000 electric cars, including 100,000 ID. models made in Germany, by 2020
Volkswagen is committing to electric vehicles with its ELECTRIC FOR ALL campaign launching today, with production of the Volkswagen ID. beginning at the end of 2019.
At the launch of the ELECTRIC FOR ALL campaign, Volkswagen demonstrated its modular electric drive matrix (MEB) which will be used in its electric vehicles. The German company also unveiled a design prototype of the “Volks-Wallbox” which its billing as an affordable home system for charging the ID.
Volkswagen claims the MEB is the key to the “electric car for all”, enabling a a hitherto unachievable price-service ratio and helping transform the electric vehicle from a niche product into a bestseller.
Says Brand Board Member for E-Mobility Thomas Ulbrich:
“We will make electric vehicles popular and get as many people as possible excited about electric cars. The MEB is one of the most important projects in the history of Volkswagen – a technological milestone, similar to the transition from the Beetle to the Golf.”
“We are making optimal use of the possibilities the electric car has to offer and creating massive economies of scale at the same time. Some 10 million vehicles across the Group will be based on this platform in the first wave alone. The MEB is the economic and technological backbone of the electric car for all.”
Volkswagen says the ID. will be a milestone in technological development with the MEB making it possible, for example, to install larger batteries. “The car holds the road really well thanks to the flat battery situated in the floorpan and the space inside is much more generous – we are making substantial headway with the sense of spaciousness,” claims Ulbrich.
“By the end of 2022, four Group brands will be ramping up 27 MEB models worldwide, ranging from compact cars to the lifestyle Bulli. That is something quite unique.”
VW says that all members of the ID. family are designed for fast charging. Using fast charging systems, the battery can be charged 80 percent in about 30 minutes thanks to a completely new, significantly more powerful battery system developed by Volkswagen Group Components.
Conceived and developed by the E-mobility Product Line and Research and Development units at the main plant in Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen ID. will be made in Germany. The company is investing €1.3 billion of a total €6 billion budgeted for e-mobility at a number of sites across the country.
