Range Extended: Volkswagen Auto Group Announces MEB+ Platform
Volkswagen Auto Group has plans to extend the range of its Modular Electric Drive System (MEB) platforms for electric vehicles.
The plan is not only to increase the range but also cut charging times -- and the platform will be renamed to MEB+.
The platform is scalable and the batteries are placed in the underbody, between the axles, to maximize interior space. VW is claiming that the platform will allow for up to 435 miles of range and charging speeds of 175-200 kilowatts. This will happen thanks to the company's next generation of unit-cell batteries.
VW wants to launch 10 vehicles on this new platform by 2026, including performance and premium vehicles. It's unclear if these will be global nameplates or not. Volkswagen also appears set to build an entry-level model that costs €25,000 (a tick over $26K at today's exchange rate).
There's other news to report: VW isn't talking about the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) that has been reported as the planned platform for an upcoming model named Trinity. That project may be delayed until 2030 instead of launching in 2026 as planned
Back to MEB+ -- the original MEB platform has been around since 2019, with 670,000 units having been sold globally. 500K of those have been ID models. Audi also uses the platform, as do overseas brands like Skoda and Cupra. Not only is it unclear how models riding on the platform will be distributed across global markets, the launch timing is also not known. That said, we'd expect it to be a soon as possible, with at least some models set for the North American market.
[Image: VW]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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@Tassos
Wake me up when other loser "Legacy" automaker comes up with a "BETTER TESLA" BEV...
Time to wake up.
Stateside, the offering may be limited, but probably not for long. This side of the pond there are lots of better, cheaper options which is why in the Netherlands, the 2nd best European market for BEV, Tesla comes in 9th:
Top 10 year-to-date (from '21) :
https://insideevs.com/news/562012/netherlands-plugin-car-sales-2021/
At the beginning of the year, EVs were about 70% of all new car sales in NL.
Sales of Tesla plummeted when the gov't lowered the qualifying price for BEV that were eligible for a tax break.
Elsewhere, in Jan '22 in Norway, the #1best European market for BEV, where 83% of all new cars are EVs, Tesla comes in... not at all. One month does not a year make, but here is Jan's registration for new cars, with only on ICE on the list and no Teslas:
Audi Q4 e-tron 643
Hyundai IONIQ 5 477
BMW iX 444
Skoda Enyaq 389
Volkswagen ID.4 389
Ford Must. Mach-E 356
Kia EV6 356
Audi e-tron 289
Toyota RAV4 271
Polestar 2 261
Nissan Leaf 231
M-Benz EQA 189
M-Benz EQC 184
Peugeot 2008 181
Porsche Taycan 181
Hongqi E-HS9 175
Volvo C40 170
Kia Niro 156
Hyundai Kona 152
Volkswagen ID.3 125
Wakey wakey.
Because these cars will have an ICE unit will they be able to claim a rebate? I'm thinking no, at least as the current rules here in USA are written.
@VoGhost - I appreciate the comment, but I am not cherry picking. I don't have a dog in this race. I was surprised by the data, which was the latest I found for Norway and NL. Call me lazy.
Digging around instead of working, I found slightly newer data, but same story. In July 202, and in June 2022 (YTD), Tesla did not make the top 10:
May 2022
https://insideevs.com/news/592213/netherlands-plugin-car-sales-may2022/
July 2020
https://thenextweb.com/news/do-you-know-what-the-netherlands-most-popular-ev-is-hint-its-not-a-tesla
If you have better data, please post it. I gave links, so have a read. Tesla does better Europe wide, but Norway and NL are #1 and #2 EV leaders in Europe.
Tesla dropped off the sales radar in NL because the became excluded from the gov't tax break when the maximum eligible sticker price was lowered to €40k. No Tesla's qualified, so a big incentive was removed for Teslas, with buyers shopping elsewhere. In Amsterdam, EVs are excluded from local tax, so there is an incentive to buy EV but not a Tesla or other high priced EV. I am not sure about Norway, but not a single sale in a month should be worrying. The data could be wrong, etc.
My point is, contrary to the prior post, Tesla dominant position is quickly eroding here. There are plenty of good, or judging by sales, better alternatives in Europe, which is a new problem for Tesla. The same is possibly true in China, where Tesla is now offering incentives.
As for shorting TSLA, I don't play a rigged game with Wall St traders laying their own dedicated fiber to shave milliseconds of transactions times, beating other traders with high-frequency trades. You can make money trading, and I have, but I also made money at Keeneland years ago and had more fun.
The Skoda Enyaq is priced at 34,600 Euros in Germany. If Skoda would like to dip their toes in the water at the other side of the pond, now would be the time.