Volkswagen, the MEB platform for electric cars evolves

That Volkswagen is one of the most active car manufacturers on the front ofelectrification of its range it’s not a secret at all. The House of Wolfsburg has long been investing money and human resources in the development of technologies that guarantee ever greater range and optimized ride comfort.

The latest achievement in this sector is represented by MEB+ platform, the “natural” evolution of the MEB platform and destined to represent the “base” on which all the group’s electrics will be built over the next few years. The new platform collects a rather cumbersome legacy: the platform destined for retirement was used for the production of 10 different models, for a total of half a million electric cars sold worldwide.

MEB+: the evolution of the species

Acronym of Modular Electric Drive System, the MEB platform represented a decisive step forward for the Volkswagen group on the path towards the electrification of the range. Thanks to the fully modular design, this same platform has been used to design small cars, station wagons and even small vans. And the fate of the MEB+ will be no different.

The modular design will indeed be maintained and optimized, to ensure an even longer range and increasingly shorter charging times. Merit, mainly, of the new “Unified Cell” batteries, prismatic in shape and with different chemistry. This new configuration will allow for a higher accumulation density for the same occupied “surface”.

This translates into a greater capacity of the accumulators and, consequently, a greater autonomy than in the past. As communicated by the Wolfsburg House, cars based on the MEB + platform will be able to reach a range of 700 km on a single charge. Approximately 150 kilometers more than the performance of the first generation MEB platform.

They also decide to improve on the front of the recharge times. The new platform for electric cars from the Volkswagen group supports a power of 175-200 kW: this means that it will be possible to fill up in a matter of minutes.

Volkswagen prepares an electric car for 25,000 euros

The new electric platform will allow Volkswagen (and all the other brands of the group) to significantly expand the offer of electric models. The Wolfsburg-based house alone is expected to launch 10 models by 2026, including a city car or compact with starting price of just 25 thousand euros (the evolution of the Concept ID.Life previewed at the 2021 Monaco Motor Show).

There will also be electric SUVs (probably the arrival of the electric Tiguan), premium and sports cars. A powerful development plan, which should allow Volkswagen to establish itself as one of the major electric car manufacturers in the world.

The electric development plans of the Volkswagen Group

However, the MEB + platform does not represent an arrival point for the Wolfsburg company. Indeed, the exact opposite is true: already in 2025 Volkswagen should launch a completely new electric platform on the market, capable of guaranteeing even better performance. It’s about the SSP platform (acronym of Scalable System Platform), which will replace the MEB, the MEB+ and the PPE to guarantee a modularity never seen before.

According to Volkswagen’s development plans, the SSP will form the basis on which they will be produced over 40 million vehicles within a few years and could be used both to build city cars and to build sports vehicles.