Report: Volkswagen Mulling Second EV Platform

Volkswagen’s first EV platform, called the MEB, was first shown earlier this year at CES where it underpinned the BUDD-e Concept.  The platform is built specifically for compact cars and light commercial vehicles with an estimated range of 155 to 310 miles per charge. However, a new report from Automotive News is stating that the German automaker is investigating the MEB platform’s flexibility and whether it can use it for top-end vehicles like the Phaeton or create a new platform for its higher-end vehicles.

The MEB platform is expected to be ready by 2019, according to Volkswagen, and it will be much more scalable since it’s built specifically for EVs. This means the automaker will be able to easily alter the wheelbase, track width and seating position, enabling it to use the platform on a wider variety of vehicles. The floor-mounted battery is especially notable because it will allow engineers to alter its size based on the type of vehicle it will be used in.

“A “chocolate battery” is super easy to build and industrialize on a high scale,” said Volkmar Tanneberger, the Volkswagen Group’s head of electronics development. With its ability to handle everything from the subcompact Polo to the midsize Passat, the MEB platform will be able to underpin nearly every vehicle in Volkswagen’s lineup. A second EV-specific platform may be necessary if the MEB architecture isn’t able to support vehicles as large as the Phaeton. Porsche’s Mission E and Audi’s e-tron Quattro will ride on their own respective platforms since they were designed before the MEB architecture was announced.

According to a Volkswagen official, EVs don’t need to be as large as their gas-powered counterparts because the interior space can be increased due to the lack of a driveshaft tunnel, allowing smaller cars to gain more passenger and cargo capacity. This means that there is a possibility that an all-electric Phaeton could have smaller exterior dimensions yet still have the same interior space as a full-size sedan.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Volkswagen BUDD e concept watch app Volkswagen BUDD e concept steering wheel Volkswagen BUDD e concept sliding door Volkswagen BUDD e concept side profile Volkswagen BUDD e concept side profile in motion Volkswagen BUDD e concept sensor lift Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear three quarters Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear three quarters 02 Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear three quarter Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear three quarter sketch Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear three quarter in motion Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear storage Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear interior Volkswagen BUDD e concept rear cargo Volkswagen BUDD e concept interior view Volkswagen BUDD e concept interior view 04 Volkswagen BUDD e concept interior view 03 Volkswagen BUDD e concept interior view 02 Volkswagen BUDD e concept home to car Volkswagen BUDD e concept front three quarters Volkswagen BUDD e concept front three quarter sketch Volkswagen BUDD e concept front three quarter in motion Volkswagen BUDD e concept front interior seats Volkswagen BUDD e concept front interior seats 02 Volkswagen BUDD e concept front chassis Volkswagen BUDD e concept doorbird intercom Volkswagen BUDD e concept chassis Volkswagen BUDD e concept center stack dash Volkswagen BUDD e concept battery cycle Volkswagen BUDD e concept apps

The post Report: Volkswagen Mulling Second EV Platform appeared first on Motor Trend.



from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1NWCHDC

Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire