#Electromobility

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).

The Audi Q6 e-tron is the first production model on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), marking the next step in the company's transformation into a provider of premium electric mobility. With its characteristics, the electric SUV stands for Vorsprung durch Technik. The model is defined not only by impressive driving and charging performance, but also by increased efficiency and long range. The Audi Q6 e-tron embodies typical Audi SUV styling with a further refined e-tron design language. The new design philosophy in the interior and pioneering technologies debuting in the new model, begin the next chapter in electric mobility for the Four Rings and make Vorsprung durch Technik a tangible experience every day. With the Q6 e-tron range, e-mobility is coming from the Ingolstadt plant for the first time. The Audi Q6 e-tron quattro and SQ6 e-tron will be available to order from March 2024 at a price of 74.700 and 93.800 euros and will be delivered to customers in the third quarter of 2024.

Moving you. Moving forward.

Volkswagen Group and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) have signed the first supply agreement on components of Volkswagen´s MEB for Mahindra’s purpose-built electric platform INGLO, taking a definitive step further on their joint vision for e-mobility collaboration. The deal covers the supply of certain electric components as well as unified cells. With the agreement, Volkswagen and Mahindra are further deepening their collaboration which started with a partnering agreement and a term sheet in 2022. Both companies will continue to evaluate a potential expansion of the collaboration.

Group Technology is made up of the four divisions Battery, Charging & Energy, Components and Platform Business.

Porsche is launching its second all-electric model: the new Macan with powertrains of up to 470 kW (639 PS) delivers E-Performance on any terrain and a high level of day-to-day usability. Sports car-like performance figures are matched by high-performance fast charging at up to 270 kW and up to 613 km of range in WLTP.