- Regensburg company is the sole supplier of the drive control unit for Volkswagen’s MEB platform
- The central electric drive component is ready for volume manufacturing – allows software to be updated at any time
Regensburg, August 12, 2020. Electric mobility is gaining momentum with a multitude of new models set to hit the road over the next few months – and Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of modern powertrain technologies and electrification solutions, is at the center of the action on one of the most important electric car platforms: the Volkswagen ID.3, with the key drive control unit.
“This product makes us part of Volkswagen’s electrification ecosystem, which is proof of our strong system and electronics expertise across the entire vehicle propulsion system and beyond”, says Wolfgang Breuer, Executive Vice President of the Electronic Controls business unit at Vitesco Technologies.
The device activates the electric motor, coordinates all commands initiated by the accelerator pedal, plays an integral part in charging and energy management as well as the management of the high-voltage electrical system. It also acts as an interface to the other control units inside the vehicle.
Vitesco Technologies developed the new server-based drive control unit for the Volkswagen Group’s new modular electric drive platform (MEB – German: Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten) architecture. In the Volkswagen ID.3, this device assumes a number of key functions in the electric propulsion system: it activates the electric motor, coordinates all commands initiated by the accelerator pedal, plays an integral part in charging and energy management as well as the management of the high-voltage electrical system. It also acts as an interface to the other control units inside the vehicle. The device also allows connectivity with the outside world to enable software updates, and functional enhancements at any time in the field. As a result, in addition to functional safety, great attention was also placed on cyber security during the development of the new component.
Electronics competency plus software expertise
When developing the new drive control system, Vitesco Technologies was able to build on its many years of electronics expertise. The high-tech component demonstrates that the company also has software development and integration expertise at the highest level. The product not only contains software components developed by Vitesco Technologies, but also serves as the integration platform for software parts provided by Volkswagen, to seamlessly ensure the overall device function. Through closely interlinked and trustful collaboration between their respective engineering teams, both companies were able to bring the control unit to production within approximately two years.
The component will go into series production in further electric vehicles from the carmaker’s other Group brands using the MEB platform.
The new drive control unit is a central component for electrification of the Volkswagen model range, underscoring Vitesco Technologies’ position as an electrification leader. The company is setting a clear strategic focus on electronics and electrification technologies with an attractive product portfolio that will cover all electrification scenarios in the coming years.
“We’ve already applied our outstanding expertise in electronics and mechatronic, as well as our understanding of complete powertrain systems to electrified and electric drives. Control systems and the efficient interaction between complex devices will continue to be at the heart of our development”, says Breuer.