Volkswagen EVs to get new platform, cheaper batteries from 2026
Volkswagen will start moving all of its electric cars onto an updated platform from next year, ushering in a new type of battery chemistry that promises to reduce costs.
The Volkswagen ID 2 supermini, due in 2026, will be the first model to use a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that will be cheaper than the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) packs in the firm’s current EVs.
After that car is launched, the rest of Volkswagen’s ID cars will move onto an updated platform dubbed MEB Plus, which will have them adopt the same type of battery.
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LFP batteries have become more popular in recent years, as technological developments have increased their range while preserving their cost advantage over conventional NMC packs.
Tesla was first to bring the technology to mass production, with the Model 3 in China, Ford soon followed suit with the Mustang Mach-E and now other volume manufacturers like Volkswagen are embracing the tech.
Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said: “The upgrade to MEB Plus comes next year, and we will roll out the cell-to-pack battery systems with LFP.
“That will be a major step forward in terms of cost for us. It’s very important, and also in performance.
“We’re very happy with that. It’s all in plan. We will come in with MEB Plus across the models, including ID 3, ID 4, ID 7. They will have LFP.
“You can see this move towards LFP across the board, really, except for performance applications on the upper end. In the volume game, LFP is the technology.”
“It will start with ID 2 and then roll out through the models.”
The LFP batteries will be supplied by the Volkswagen Group’s new battery factory in Salzgitter, Germany, which will also build the current-generation NMC packs on a smaller scale until they’re phased out.
The company has yet to confirm any specifications for the new batteries, but there is potential for the EVs to gain range while reducing in price.
This technological overhaul will be accompanied by a wide-reaching design refresh of Volkswagen’s ID line-up, as previously reported by Autocar.
R&D boss Kai Grunitz said last year this portfolio redesign will bring “huge improvements” that show Volkswagen “going back to where we came from”, and now Schäfer has outlined just how important it is to bring a new look.
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“Design is your first touchpoint. That’s what excites people,” he said.
“You have to have an iconic design that people connect with, and it doesn’t matter what kind of drivetrain is underneath. This fascination with ‘is it electric or petrol?’ doesn’t matter if you have an iconic car. You can see it in many examples.”
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