Volkswagen Will Invest In Mines To Become A Global Battery Supplier
Volkswagen has a big goal of investing in mines to lower the cost of battery cells and to sell to third-party customers. Many carmakers plan to have this strategy because it means they will have more control over parts for the supply chain. Volkswagen wants its battery unit PowerCo to become a global battery supplier with plants based in Europe and North America.
To start, PowerCo plans to bring cells to Ford, which will help with the 1.2 million cars in the U.S. to help build in Europe on Volkswagen’s electric MEB platform. This carmaker is partnering on supply deals with different mining companies in Canada, where the first battery plant in North America will be built. Carmakers like Volkswagen, Tesla, and Stellantis have a hard time getting batteries at a lower cost for vehicles. In terms of when production for the battery platforms will start is 2025 for PowerCo in Salzgitter, Germany, 2026 for Valencia, Spain, and 2027 for Ontario, Canada.
MEB+ Platform
Recently, Volkswagen stated that MEB would develop into MEB+ and help take EV production to a new level. Volkswagen will put forth more effort into the production of the e-platform, and that will help with charging, storage technology, and more. The MEB+ plans to use Volkswagen’s new generation of batteries that will help boost the driving ranges to 435 miles. Having MEB+ will help grow the car lineup, with Volkswagen introducing ten new EVs by 2026. MEB+ will carry over the original MEB’s 400-volt architecture. With the ID.3, the MEB platform supports over 670,000 cars delivered, including over 500,000 electric vehicles from Volkswagen.
Environmentally-Friendly Materials
The Volkswagen Group Innovation team for biomaterials had a new idea to replace genuine leather with coffee leather, and it is a perfect copy of genuine leather. This replacement helps Volkswagen stick to its goal of non-animal leather and can eventually be used for car seats and armrests. The ID. Buzz is a great example vehicle that uses original materials for the interior, and, ultimately, more ID vehicles will do the same.
Some alternative materials used are from marine plastic, plastic bottles, Seaqual yarn, and recycled PES yarn. This helps reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent, and 71 percent of materials used for seat covers are made from recycled fabric. The roof lining for the ID. Buzz is made from recycled polyester, and the carpet has recycled plastics. It’s important to note that every recycled material used needs to be top quality as the original and new material that would have been used. Volkswagen will continue to work out to eliminate the use of animal-based products and understands the growing demand for non-animal-related materials. Another big goal for Volkswagen is to be net zero carbon neutral by 2050.
How To Learn More
There will be many updates along the way for Volkswagen investing big to become a global battery supplier. You can follow along via Nye Volkswagen of Rome social media to learn more. In the meantime, come on down to Nye Automotive Group today to check out any Volkswagen vehicles that may be a right fit for you. We look forward to seeing you soon!