Volkswagen Targets EUR17,000 ID.1, Claims SSP Platform Will Have Up To 1700 BHP

In a news release, Volkswagen Group states it is focusing its tactical positionings and introducing efficiency programs at all brand names to enhance success and capital. CEO Oliver Blume stated, “We have actually straightened Volkswagen Group tactically and highly. Client orientation, entrepreneurship, and group spirit identify our actions. Enthusiastic, tactical return targets with structured efficiency programs enhance our monetary effectiveness.”

That is a load of delighted talk that in fact states extremely little. However Autocar has its own take on the news and it consists of an idea that an ID.1 car— which would be the spiritual follower to the e-Up!– might remain in the works and might have a base cost of around EUR17,000.

Volkswagen e-Ups in Barcelona, Spain. Picture by Zach Shahan|CleanTechnica

Utilizing a brand-new bespoke electrical platform that will underpin comparable designs from brother or sister brand names Cupra and Skoda, the ID.1 will sit listed below the production variation of the just recently exposed ID.2 all principle, which VW is intending to cost around ₤ 22,500 (EUR26,169). Volkswagen Group CFO Arno Antlitz just recently stated he thinks the company can provide electrical automobiles at this cost point, mentioning the development of more affordable battery products and production approaches.

” For the time being, we’re rather positive that we can attain that cost point. There are a great deal of developments beginning the technical side. This vehicle will have the very first internal battery cells from our Valencia plant. We’re simply increase. We will have a lot more scale already. [We have also seen a slight] enhancement or relief on the raw product expense. Take a look at lithium: it boiled down. Nickel boiled down. So, from this viewpoint, we’re rather positive that we can attain that EUR25,000 [£22,500] target and, at the very same time, have a good margin.”

Volkswagen has actually just recently revealed it has a brand-new dry covering procedure for its batteries that it states will decrease the cost of batteries for all of its electrical automobiles. Volkswagen Group is putting a significant focus on establishing merged battery cell innovation that can be used throughout all of its brand names, and might possibly minimize expenses by as much as 50%.

Volkswagen ID.1

His remarks referred particularly to the production practicality of the ID.2, however might recommend the reported ID.1 at a lower cost point is practical. Autocar states that while information of the ID.1 architecture have yet to be disclosed, it will stand out from the MEB entry platform that will be shared by the ID.2, Cupra Raval, and Skoda’s compact crossover, all of which will all be integrated in Spain starting in 2025. The brand-new platform will be established by Volkswagen Group, with Skoda playing an essential function. It will be comparable in size and interior area to the VW Polo.

Volkswagen brand name employer Thomas Schäfer has actually decreased to state whether the brand-new city vehicle would be called ID.1 or ID Polo. Although, he has stated using timeless design names will be booked for real followers to the initial. The choice to develop the brand-new little vehicle might depend upon the last Euro 7 emissions guidelines. If they permit Volkswagen to continue utilizing an internal combustion engine in the Polo, the little electrical vehicle might be postponed.

If there is an ID.1, it will be planned mainly for city usage, suggesting variety will be a secondary issue. That, in turn, will permit the business to fit a smaller sized battery which will assist make the lower cost possible. Volkswagen has actually established a 38 kWh LFP battery for the ID.2 all, which is most likely to be the biggest capability thought about for the brand-new design. That would permit a variety of around 200 would still possibly permit a variety of under 200 miles, which would resemble the Fiat 500e.

Schäfer has actually hinted the brand-new low cost design might be integrated in markets such as India, where Volkswagen Group has production centers and the expense of production is lower. Nevertheless, it might be used in Europe and tariff guidelines may make some regional production possible.

Volkswagen SSP Platform Back On Track For 2026

We hear a lot about platforms for electrical cars. Recently, Hyundai revealed it is preparing the follower to its E-GMP EV platform. The brand-new Integrated Modular Platform is created to function as the basis for all EVs from the Hyundai Group in the future. A platform is an extension of the production viewpoint originated by Henry Ford more than a century back. Rather of making every vehicle by hand, standardize the style and the parts to make it cost less.

The modern-day platform for electrical automobiles looks for to standardize as lots of parts clients do not view as possible– battery management and cooling systems, motors, battery packs, inverters, etc– so automobiles can be put together rapidly and beneficially. The wheelbase and the width of the automobiles produced might alter however the heart of the automobiles will be the very same and originate from a typical parts bin. Recently, software application has actually ended up being as essential as hardware, as makers battle to include over-the-air updates and semi-autonomous driving systems into their automobiles– 2 developments that Tesla originated a years back.

When Herbert Diess was running the program at Volkswagen Group, he was pressing the advancement of a second-generation electrical vehicle platform that would serve the requirements of practically every electrical vehicle produced by all the different brand names within the group. Called the Scalable Systems Platform, it was expected to prevent the expenses related to utilizing a variety of various electrical vehicle platforms. While waiting on the SSP platform, Audi is blazing a trail on a Premium Efficiency Electric platform that will be the basis of the upcoming Porsche e-Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron.

Eventually, Volkswagen Group desires a unified electrical vehicle platform that will function as the basis for whatever from little city automobiles to magnificent cars. As it is, is has the MEB platform, an organized MEB+ platform being available in 2025, an MEB Entry platform that will be utilized for automobiles like the ID.2 all, possibly yet another platform for the proposed ID.1 pointed out above, and the PPE from Porsche/Audi.

The CARIAD Issue

A couple of months back, there was an uprising at Volkswagen since the software application advancement for the SSP platform was years behind. Porsche and Audi were shouting that their advancement strategies were being torpedoed by the hold-up. As an outcome, the whole management group at CARIAD, the subsidiary accountable for software application advancement, was tossed overboard and there were alarming cautions that SSP would be postponed till 2028– at the earliest.

And yet, recently, at the capital markets day occasion, present Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume informed financiers the SSP task is back on track and will be all set by 2026. That brand-new management group at CARIAD should be made up of superheroes! Blume informed those in presence, “The SSP architecture will stabilize the requirement for scale and standardization with distinction and speed,” according to Autocar Initially, SSP was expected to be efficient in managing as much as 1100 horse power, however Blume now states the platform will have the ability to support automobiles with as much as 1700 horse power. That mean the possibility of some quite incredible future electrics originating from Porsche, Bentley, or Lamborghini.

Blume included that “most” cars on the SSP platform will attain earnings margin parity with traditional automobiles. That parity is just possible with a few of the designs based upon the MEB platform. “Architectures conceal to 75% of all product expenses for BEV, compared to as much as 10% for ICE,” Blume stated. “For that reason, architectures are an essential chauffeur for success in the future.”

With the SSP platform, charging times from 10% to 80% SOC will be minimized to about 12 minutes compared to 35 minutes for MEB-based designs. In addition, the software application 2.0 and electronic architecture will permit hands-free increasing to Level 4.

Obligation for carrying out the SSP platform will be appointed to different group members Architecture parts for superminis and city automobiles will be led by the Volkswagen brand name and utilized by Cupra, Skoda, and Audi. Compact and midsized parts will be established by Audi and utilized by Volkswagen, Porsche, and Skoda. Porsche will lead advancement of big vehicle parts utilized by itself, Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini. Blume declared that Volkswagen Group might minimize capital investment and advancement expenses by 30% compared to the MEB platform.

The Takeaway

Like Hyundai, Ford, GM, and a lot of other tradition car manufacturers, Volkswagen is putting a great deal of cash and effort into the shift to electrical automobiles. However as one individual commented in our current Hyundai story, they are still preparing to crank out millions and countless traditional automobiles and trucks powered by infernal combustion engines to spend for the expense of the shift. The EV transformation is advancing, however it is far from over.