Volkswagen unveils electric car framework in design first for company
Electric drive matrix – known as MEB – will underpin ‘the electric car for all’
Volkswagen has unveiled an all-new vehicle framework that will play host to ‘the electric car for all’.
Designed specifically for battery power and set to debut on the upcoming ID hatchback, the modular electric drive matrix – also known as MEB – is the first from the firm to be designed from scratch with EVs in mind.
Although more information on MEB’s application has yet to be revealed, Volkswagen Group plans for 27 models across four of its brands to be using the framework by the end of 2022.
Volkswagen says MEB will allow for larger batteries, providing more range than EVs today by adding capacity.
Thomas Ulbrich, VW Group board member for e-mobility, said: “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.”
By 2020, Volkswagen wants to have sold 150,000 electric cars – with 100,000 of those sales coming from the ID, which is set to enter production in 2019.
Christian Senger, head of e-mobility product line for Volkswagen, said: “The ID will be a milestone in technological development. It will be the first fully connected electric car with full everyday utility that millions of people will be able to afford.”
The German manufacturer currently offers two electric cars – the e-Up and e-Golf – both adapted from fossil fuel-powered underpinnings.
