The Volkswagen Group has nominated 44 of its suppliers to collaborate on a new strategic level under the Future Automotive Supply Tracks (FAST) initiative. One of the first batch of preferred suppliers is LG Electronics, which provides high-voltage batteries for the Group’s various plug-in vehicles. Volkswagen launched the FAST program in February with the aim… Read more »
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Volkswagen working on automated DC charging
EV drivers are demanding more range, and automakers are responding. However, as several observers have noted, this will introduce a new set of challenges. Better batteries can hold more energy, and consumers certainly don’t want longer charging times, so higher charging power levels will be required. That, in turn, will require thicker (or perhaps liquid-cooled)… Read more »
Volkswagen brings new plug-in Passat to Europe
Volkswagen is expanding its stable of plug-in vehicles with the new Passat GTE plug-in hybrid. The VW Group now offers no less than ten plug-ins: the Audi A3 e-tron, Q7 e-tron and R8 e-tron; the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera S E-Hybrids; the Golf and Passat GTE plug-ins, the low-volume XL1, and the battery-electric e-up! and… Read more »
Volkswagen to install 12,000 charging points in its German parking lots
Volkswagen has announced what must be one of the world’s largest workplace charging programs – it plans to install 12,000 charging points at its company parking lots in Germany over the next few years – 10% of the company’s 120,000 employee parking spaces. CEO Martin Winterkorn made the announcement at the recent National Conference on… Read more »
Volkswagen plans $10 million investment in EV infrastructure, calls on governments to do more
Joerg Sommer, VP of Product Marketing and Strategy at Volkswagen of America, announced plans to invest $10 million in EV charging infrastructure by 2016. Speaking at the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s annual conference, Sommer said the investments VW and other companies are making in EVSE should be matched by additional governmental support. “Automakers have effectively… Read more »
BMW and Volkswagen partner with ChargePoint to create fast charging corridors on East and West Coasts
One indicator of an automaker’s seriousness about EVs may be its willingness to invest a substantial amount in charging infrastructure, as Nissan and Tesla have done. This week, BMW and Volkswagen, together with ChargePoint, announced an initiative to create express charging corridors on the east and west coasts of the US. In the initial phase,… Read more »
2015 VW e-Golf ushers in an era of interchangeable drivetrains for every Volkswagen model
Rising above the waters of the Mittelland Canal in Wolfsburg, Germany, four iconic smokestacks cut through an otherwise sparse skyline. These are the most recognizable – and among the last – vestiges of the original Volkswagen factory from 1938. Symbolically, however, the smokestacks represent much more than the symbols of a power plant that –… Read more »
Volkswagen demonstrates e-Golf that can park (and charge) itself
This week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas features a fleet of vehicles from Volkswagen that showcase the triple trends of electrification, autonomy and connectivity. VW notes that its plug-in models, the e-Golf and Golf GTE, would be inconceivable without computers that control such functions as battery charging and switching between gas and electric drive… Read more »
Volkswagen buys piece of solid-state battery startup
Volkswagen has bought a five-percent stake in battery startup QuantumScape. Confidential sources told Bloomberg that the Volkswagen Group plans to complete tests of QuantumScape’s technology by mid-2015, and is considering using it in VW, Porsche and Audi vehicles. Closely-held QuantumScape, founded in 2010 by former Stanford University researchers, is working on solid-state batteries, which it… Read more »
Volkswagen sees “great potential” in solid-state batteries
In a speech at Stanford University last week, Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen, said that he sees great potential in solid-state batteries, which could boost EV range to as much as 435 miles, representing a volumetric energy density of about 1,000 Wh/l. Replacing the traditional liquid electrolyte with a nonflammable inorganic… Read more »