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Volkswagen Group to introduce a single electric platform to underpin future models

Volkswagen Group has outlined plans to base all future battery-powered models on a single platform.


At a presentation overnight, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess unveiled the company's intention to have at least 80 per cent of its models built on the new electric vehicle (EV) architecture by 2030.

Named 'Scalable Systems Platform' (SSP), the architecture will replace the current MEB and PPE platforms in the coming years, and will underpin models from Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bentley, and Skoda, among others.

"Volkswagen’s platforms are an important building block of the Volkswagen success story, and we are taking the platform approach to a new level," Diess told media at the event.

"By providing strong unified platforms our brands can unleash their full potential and synergies. Our MEB platform serves as a proof of concept."

It's expected Audi's 'Project Artemis' will debut the SSP architecture in 2025, with Volkswagen's 'Project Trinity' to follow in 2026.

 

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Above: Volkswagen's 'Project Trinity' will debut in 2026, based on the new SSP chassis.

It's thought these all-electric flagship sedans are part of Volkswagen Group's 'Landjet' flagship EV project, revealed in November 2020, as part of the company's 'Mission T' roadmap.

Diess discussed 'Mission T' on a LinkedIn post in December 2020, with the blueprint outlining how the car giant will directly take on electric vehicle rival Tesla.

As part of its move to standardize manufacturing across Volkswagen Group brands, the German company established a 'Car.Software' division last year, tasked with developing a native operating system for all models – much in the same way Apple produces its own operating system for its smartphones and computers.

Volkswagen Group says its in-house software development is expected to rise from 10 per cent to 60 per cent, with the brand predicting it will eventually become Europe's second-largest software company.

"There is only one software domain where Europe still has a chance to play a leading role – that’s the next generation of automotive software," Diess said.

The German company's plan for the majority of its passenger cars to be underpinned by a single hardware platform, operated using one software system, will allow the brand to lower its operating margin and increase its profits.

In November 2020, Volkswagen Group brand Bentley announced its models would be fully-electric by 2030, while this week Audi revealed it will no longer be developing all-new internal combustion engines.

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Ben Zachariah

Ben Zachariah is an experienced writer and motoring journalist from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally more than 15 years ago and was previously an interstate truck driver. He completed his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert on classic car investment.

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