Martin Sander, Member of the Board of Management, responsible for Sales, Marketing, and After-Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars:
“Electric mobility can only realize its full potential if it also makes economic sense for our customers. With Vehicle-to-Grid, we are delivering exactly that: significantly lower home charging costs – and, in the long term, nearly cost-free charging. As a pioneer in bidirectional charging, our entire ID. family has been ‘bidi-ready’ since 2023. In this way, we are bringing V2G from innovation into everyday life and making this technology accessible to the mass market. That is the ambition of the Volkswagen brand.”
Giovanni Palazzo, CEO Elli & SVP Charging and Energy Volkswagen Group Components:
“Vehicle-to-Grid delivers its full value only through the connection of vehicles, infrastructure and the energy market. And that is precisely why we established Elli as the energy interface within the Group. Today, we have the technological and operational capabilities to scale an integrated solution across millions of vehicles and brands. We are now taking the next step: connecting batteries, unlocking new value through aggregation, and making our vision of a ‘Managed Battery Network’ a tangible reality for the first time.”
Savings potential and future revenue opportunities
The new V2G offer enables customers to actively manage their mobility costs: electric vehicles can become a source of income in the future. By providing available battery capacity from their vehicle and demonstrating flexibility in charging behavior, customers can achieve savings and, in the future, generate revenue. Market estimates suggest a potential of up to €700 to €900 annually in best-case scenarios.
In an initial phase, customers will receive compensation for making their vehicle battery available for energy trading. This compensation is independent of trading performance, fully transparent, and based on the level of flexibility the customer chooses in their charging behavior.
The goal is to gradually reduce the total cost of mobility – ultimately moving toward nearly cost-neutral charging. Electric mobility is thus evolving from a pure cost factor into an active component of the energy market. At the same time, customers benefit from a fully-integrated offer from a single source: a dynamic electricity tariff, DC bidirectional charger, smart meter, and digital app are systematically interconnected.
V2G as part of an integrated energy system
In the future, electric vehicles will take on a dual role: they will not only serve as a means of transport but also function as flexible energy storage units. Surplus energy – particularly from renewable sources – can be stored in the vehicle and fed back into the grid when needed. This makes the integration of mobility and energy a central component of Volkswagen’s Group strategy.
Vehicle-to-Grid offers not only individual benefits but also significant macroeconomic potential: studies indicate that up to €22 billion in system costs could be saved annually in Europe by 2040. In Germany alone, approximately 9,500 GWh of renewable energy was recently curtailed – enough to power around three million electric vehicles for an entire year.
MEB platform enables scaling to the mass market
The technological foundation is the modular electric drive platform (MEB). Around one million vehicles in Europe are already technically prepared for bidirectional charging.
With the upcoming ID. Software 6, the functionality will be extended to additional battery sizes, making it accessible to an even broader customer base – including future volume models. At the same time, Volkswagen ensures through robust high-voltage batteries and protection systems that bidirectional charging does not significantly impact battery lifespan.
Elli as orchestrator of an integrated energy ecosystem
The Group subsidiary Elli plays a central role. The company is evolving from a provider of charging and energy solutions into a manager of a comprehensive energy system, combining:
- Electricity tariff
- Charger
- Digital app control
- Aggregation of vehicle batteries
- Access to energy markets and energy trading
Elli thus acts as the link between the EV, customers, and the energy market, supported by its own energy trading team that trades electricity on the EPEX Spot exchange 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In contrast to fragmented competitive approaches, Volkswagen is pursuing a fully integrated platform model with the aim of retaining the customer interface and key value creation within its own ecosystem.
Smart meters as a key element to energy infrastructure
The integration of intelligent metering systems – smart meters – is essential for the widespread adoption of V2G. Elli refers customers to one of the largest competitive metering point operators for the provision of a smart meter. Customers are directed accordingly via the Elli website. As a nationwide metering point operator, the provider is responsible for the installation of the smart meter and the provision of high-resolution metering data. By simplifying access to this key technology, Elli contributes to enabling the energy transition.
Close collaboration will also accelerate installation: customers are expected to receive their smart meter within eight to ten weeks and, following configuration, will be able to use the V2G tariff.