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Volkswagen I.D. Countdown: e-Hatchback Confirmed For Late-2019 Production Start
4 Dec 2017, 12:02 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Industry
The Modularer Elektrobaukasten is a huge leap forward for the Volkswagen Group, probably bigger than the MQB is for the current crop of front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive models. Shortened to MEB, the modular platform will enter production at the end of 2019 at the Zwickau plant in Germany, with the first electric vehicle of the I.D. family.
81 photosThe countdown started today at the MEB Supplier Summit, with Volkswagen confirming that more than 100 suppliers have been nominated within the framework of the electric offensive. Coincidence or not, 100 weeks are left until VW AG embraces e-mobility at full speed.
In addition to the I.D. hatchback, previewed by the Golf-sized concept of the same name, the Elektrobaukasten will be employed by an additional 31 models from Audi, Skoda, SEAT, and other group-owned brands. “Volkswagen brand alone will be offering more than 20 all-electric models by 2022 and will be investing about €6 billion in e-mobility over the next five years,” declared head honcho Herbert Diess.
Following the I.D. hatchback, the MEB-based Volkswagen lineup will welcome the I.D. Buzz (electric Microbus) and I.D. Crozz (electric crossover). The Wolfsburg-based automaker expects to have built more than 100,000 MEB vehicles by the closure of 2020. The secret to this output is the reduced complexity of the platform and the modularity, with Elektrobaukasten capable of front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive applications.
“We intend to work together [with our suppliers] to ensure that Europe is ahead in the global race to the lead in e-mobility,” added Diess, a strategy that “will enable us to write a new chapter in the history of the automobile.” Reading between the lines, this claim is a subtle middle finger salute to Elon Musk’s endless boasting and Tesla’s failure to ramp up Model 3 production.
As part of today’s announcement, Volkswagen confirmed that MEB electric vehicles will make their way to the United States and China from 2020 onwards.
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