The Volkswagen Group hit a milestone after revealing 1 million electric vehicles have been produced on its MEB electric car platform.
Volkswagen foresaw the auto industry’s transition to fully electric vehicles (although didn’t commit to it fully yet) back in 2015 with plans to develop a dedicated EV platform.
The modular electric drive matrix (MEB) was officially unveiled in 2018 as the German automaker accelerated its EV strategy with several concept releases following including the Audi e-tron. The MEB platform is the backbone of Volkswagen’s “ID” electric car series, as well as several other EVs from VW brands.
The MEB platform serves as the base for the ID.3, ID.4 electric SUV, ID.5, ID.6 (China) and will power the upcoming flagship ID.7 electric sedan due out in Europe later this year, and in the US in 2024.
Other brands under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, including Audi, Cupra, and ŠKODA also utilize the platform.
For example, Audi’s Q4 e-tron and Q5 e-tron, Cupra’s first electric car “Born,”and the ŠKODA ENYAQ iV, all ride on the MEB architecture.
Several months later VW said it was open to collaborations and it found its first partner in Ford in 2020 to launch two electric EVs in Europe.
It’s first, an electric Explorer SUV, released in March starting at less than €45,000 (roughly $48,500). Although Ford has since revealed its developing its own in-house technology, the partnership serves a key role in expanding Ford’s European presence. Rather than taking the time to develop its own platform, delaying a rollout, using VW’s MEB platform will help bridge the gap.
The automaker says it achieved the milestone with five brands, including Volkswagen, Audi, Cupra, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen commercial.
Furthermore, Volkswagen said the five brand are pushing eight factories in Europe, the US, and China. The company is teasing a small MEB-based EV with Cupra, ŠKODA, and VW.
Volkswagen is already working on developing the platform further with the next-gen “MEB+” using advanced batteries to enable over 430 miles (700 km) range and faster charging times. The German automaker expects 80% of its passenger cars to be electric by 2030 in Europe as it works toward a fully electric future.