The Volkswagen Group’s path towards electrification continues unabated and among the new arrivals there is the first update of the MEB platform, or the modular architecture designed to be 100% electric which forms the basis for almost all zero-zero cars issues of the German group. The Modular Electric Drive System made its debut at the end of 2019 on the ID.3 – for which a restyling is expected shortly – and has currently been used for over half a million cars in the ID family, while expanding the field to include other brands, to 670,000 cars. Its evolution will debut in 2026, it will be called MEB+ and will expand its potential and performance, extending its life up to the ten years initially envisaged.
The focus of the platform will remain on two aspects in particular, range and efficiency, which according to Volkswagen determine the actual ease of use of an electric car. “With the first generation of the MEB platform, we had the opportunity for the first time to develop vehicles around the battery,” explains Frank Blome, who has been responsible for the MEB platform from the outset as Head of the Battery Cell Business Unit. But what specifically does the modularity of this platform entail? Meanwhile, the possibility of building vehicles of very different shapes and sizes on them and then that of equipping them with more or less capacious batteries according to needs, varying the number of modules.
Another feature of the MEB is that it allows for the creation of very spacious passenger compartments. The ID.3, for example, has the same interior space as a Passat, with the exterior dimensions of a Golf. A value that will certainly be maintained, while there will be work to be done on the digital part which has so far created several headaches at the software level. In this regard, the MEB+ will support more advanced autonomous driving functions, it will also use the new generation of batteries from the Volkswagen Group, which will define ranges of up to 700 km. The charging power will also increase up to 175-200 kW, making operations faster. Finally, the evolved electric modular platform will also be the basis for the new zero-emission entry-level Volkswagen, which will cost around 25,000 euros and was anticipated by the ID.Life concept.
