#Electromobility

Experience electric mobility: All-electric vehicles from the Volkswagen Group stand for driving pleasure, innovative technology and sustainable mobility. With the cross-brand communication campaign Enter Electric, the Volkswagen Group is placing a clear focus on education. The initiative dispels widespread myths and prejudices and explains the advantages of e-mobility in detail. Key topics such as suitability for everyday use, battery life, charging convenience, cost benefits and sustainability are addressed.

The Volkswagen Group will launch its first ever cross-brand communication campaign in the coming weeks and months to stimulate interest in finding out about electromobility. It will dis-tribute clear facts and transparent messages in a wide range of formats to counter myths that are still widely believed.

Today, the Volkswagen Group has informed its retail partners in selected European markets that it will initiate a joint review of its sales model. While the ‘Direct to Customer’ approach with a Full Agency remains the long-term ambition, changing framework conditions might require changes in the short- to mid-term to ensure the best possible customer experience. Due to the slower transition to electric mobility across the industry, two sales models for private customers would need to be operated in parallel longer than originally anticipated: The Agency model for all-electric vehicles (BEVs) and the indirect sales model for vehicles with other drivetrains. Maintaining this high level of complexity for an extended period of time would be a key challenge for the sales organization. Therefore, a joint review process with the wholesale and retail organizations will start immediately to determine whether returning to an indirect sales model for BEVs might be a favourable alternative for the short- to mid-term. Results of this process are expected around the end of Q1 2025.

The Volkswagen Group is consistently advancing its “In China, for China” strategy. The company is strengthening its successful 40-year partnership with SAIC Motor for the long term. In Shanghai, both companies signed an extension of their joint venture agreement until the year 2040. By extending the agreement, the partners are creating early planning security beyond 2030 in a very dynamic development phase of the Chinese automotive market. At the same time, Volkswagen and SAIC are accelerating the transformation of their joint venture company, SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, in the areas of product portfolio, production, and decarbonization. The shared goal of the partners is to achieve a leading market position for SAIC VOLKSWAGEN with the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Audi brands in the era of intelligent, fully connected electric vehicles.

At the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen Group and Thyssenkrupp Steel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the planned supply to Volkswagen Group of low-carbon steel from Thyssenkrupp Steel’s future direct reduction plant. This agreement underscores the two companies’ joint commitment to sustainability and climate protection, marking a further milestone in their long-standing partnership.

Moving you. Moving forward.

Volkswagen Group’s battery company PowerCo and QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) today announced they have entered into a groundbreaking agreement to industrialize QuantumScape’s next-generation solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. Upon satisfactory technical progress and certain royalty payments, QuantumScape will grant PowerCo the license to mass produce battery cells based on QuantumScape’s technology platform.

The Volkswagen Group brand Elli presents a significant product innovation for charging EVs. The new Elli Charger 2 is equipped with a wide range of services, enables significantly reduced charging costs, and is characterized by a perfectly coordinated ecosystem. Volkswagen customers can now purchase their electric vehicle, charger, and electricity tariff in an easy and integrated manner from a single source. In the future, they will also be able to purchase a solar panel system via selected Volkswagen sales channels. As part of the product launch of the new charger, Elli today announced a strategic partnership with the European solar panel provider Otovo to offer e-mobility customers holistic and innovative energy solutions for their home.

The Volkswagen Group is entering a new business segment with the Elli charging and energy brand and will develop, build and operate large-scale stationary storage systems together with partners along the value chain. In the future, Elli's industrial energy storage systems will be used to supply customers and for arbitrage transactions on the electricity market. In this way, Elli is driving the transformation into a smart energy company and making a significant contribution to stabilizing and increasing the efficiency of the power grids. First Elli battery storage projects could be set up as early as next year.

The Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group has decided to make all-electric entry-level mobility more widespread. The Brand Group Core will bring affordable electric vehicles from Europe, for Europe, into the market. The world premiere is scheduled for 2027. Volkswagen has been working for some time to offer compact, particularly inexpensive electric vehicles in the price range of around 20,000 euros. In this way, the Group's volume brands are fulfilling their promise to create mobility for all and continue to facilitate the entry into e-mobility. With its brand diversity, the Volkswagen Group also assumes a social responsibility for affordable, sustainable mobility.

Volkswagen Group's subsidiary Elli, airborne wind turbine manufacturer EnerKíte, and the Technical University of Braunschweig present groundbreaking research at the Hannover Messe, which could enable energy-autonomous charging for electric vehicles in the future. High-tech kites "harvest" strong and steady high-altitude winds, converting them into electricity. The energy is stored in Elli's Flexpole fast-charger and can be used to charge EVs. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and coordinated at the Open Hybrid LabFactory Campus in Wolfsburg.

Ahead of Auto China 2024 in Beijing, Audi is poised to showcase its strategy and all-electric portfolio for the world’s largest automotive market. With them, the brand with the four rings is strengthening the foundation for continued success in the country. Highlights at the booth include the world premiere of the Audi Q6L e-tron, set to be produced at the new Audi FAW NEV Company factory in Changchun. At Volkswagen’s Group Night and at an Audi press conference on opening day, Audi will also outline its further roadmap for the electric transformation of its offering in China.

The Volkswagen Group is stepping up the pace of innovation ‘in China, for China’ and systematically driving forward the digitalisation of its model portfolio. Together with XPENG, Volkswagen is introducing the China Electrical Architecture (CEA), a zonal Electrical/Electronic (E/E) architecture. Jointly developed by experts from XPENG, Volkswagen China Technology Company (VCTC) and CARIAD China, the CEA will ensure the rapid expansion of digital services in the Volkswagen brand’s China-specific vehicles. Advanced features such as autonomous driving can be seamlessly integrated and continuously updated and extended 'over the air' (‘OTA’). At the same time, thanks to the zonal structure, the number of electronic control units in previous systems can be reduced by up to 30 per cent. As a result, the zonal E/E architecture will be cost competitive with local offerings. The new digital network is envisaged to be used in locally produced VW brand electric vehicles from 2026. The move will strengthen Volkswagen’s ‘electric offensive’ and mark the latest decisive step as one of the industry leaders in the age of intelligent connected vehicles (ICV).

The electrification of fleets is a key step in the mobility transition, and with it comes the demand for innovative B2B charging solutions that ensure smooth operation of their business activities. With Charging Site Management, Volkswagen Group subsidiary Elli is launching a completely new B2B product that offers AC and DC charging hardware (including Elli Flexpole, Elli Charger and additional charging hardware from selected partners), integrated software solutions (including Elli Site Management Console and Elli Fleet Management Console), as well as extensive consulting functions. The software solutions focus on a simple plug and play concept and offer all features for the operation of charging infrastructures, including load management. Users have the option of making important changes for their operations at any time via dashboards (e.g. usage periods, average capacity utilization).