As automakers look to increase the efficiency of electric vehicles, Volkswagen believes that developing more in-house components will lead to big benefits. VW announced this change of strategy at its 2023 Technology Day event, claiming efficiency improvements of up to 20% by developing its own optimized components.
“The Volkswagen Group and its brands represent first-class products and technologies,” said VW Group CEO Oliver Blume in a statement. “Thanks to the size and breadth of the team, as well as our in-house expertise, we were able to take advantage of economies of scale.”
Volkswagen’s futuristic thermal management unit developed in-house
VW used to rely on several major suppliers—most notably Bosch—for the main powertrain components. But as Tesla pointed out With its facilities, there can be several advantages to engineering, all done within the company. VW seems ready to try that approach.
According to VW’s press release, engineers have designed a new pulse inverter and its control software from scratch. The automaker claims, the internal design uses the same modular philosophy as the MEB platform developed for VW’s mass-market electric vehicles, and therefore with everything from entry-level vehicles to entry-level vehicles. to sports cars with a capacity of 500 kW (670 hp), the automaker claims. It is currently being refined for mass production use in the next MEB iteration.
Volkswagen’s future (left) and current thermal management hardware
Another area targeted for internal optimization is thermal management. Instead of the current mess of individual modules and hoses, the goal is to have an “all-in-one” that can handle temperature control for both the battery pack and the cabin. The new module is “significantly lighter, more powerful and more efficient” than current versions, and contributes to increased range and more powerful fast charging, VW claims.
It’s unclear when these components will enter production, but VW has teased a mid-decade boost for the affordable EV MEB platform. And in the meantime, it gives MEB vehicles some More range and faster charging.
