Volkswagen wants other automakers to use its MEB electric platform

Volkswagen has yet to launch a single electric vehicle on its new MEB electric platform, but it already wants to share it with other automakers.

The German automaker has been working on the platform for years and it was finally unveiled a few months ago.

Over the years, VW has been unveiling a series of ‘I.D.’ concept vehicles that will eventually result in production vehicles utilizing the new platform.

There’s the I.D., a Golf-sized vehicle, which is expected to be their first mass-market EV for the model year 2020. VW also unveiled the I.D. VIZZION sedan, the crossover all-electric I.D. CROZZ Concept, and then there’s the I.D. BUZZ electric microbus, which we’ve learned is going to be produced in Hanover in 2022.

They have yet to unveil the production version of any of those vehicles, but the first one is expected to go into production at the end of the year.

Now,Volkswagen is inviting other automakers to also use the MEB platform.

Michael Jost, Head of Strategy for the Volkswagen brand, said in a new interview:

“Regarding this area, I think that we are industry forerunners in terms of costs and scalability. Therefore, we want to offer access to the MEB, by making it available to the entire industry. This represents a paradigm shift for us.”

The executive confirmed that “Volkswagen is already in various advanced talks with competitors, particularly in the volume segment.”

He didn’t name any automaker, but Ford has been rumored to be considering using the platform.

Last month, Ford and VW announced a partnership that includes considering partnering on electric vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

Interesting move. We don’t know many details about the MEB platform but at first glance, it doesn’t look like they have anything special.

VW is going with the skateboard-like design with the battery pack sitting on the floor between the two axles, which has basically become standard in the industry:

We don’t know much about their battery pack architecture or drivetrain either.

Where VW could have an advantage is with the production volume that they are planning.

The german automaker is investing heavily in converting production capacity to electric vehicles in order to be able to produce over a million EVs per year.

Not many other established automakers are doing the same, and that could give them a cost advantage – though it remains to be proven true.