Silver lining to diesel scandal?

[PMC2015]

Looks like VW will be accelerating their implementation of electric cars. Great news in my book.

MEB electric toolkit
An MEB electric toolkit for future use in compact segment vehicles is to be developed based on the experience gained with existing vehicle architectures. This will be a multi-brand toolkit suitable for both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles and will thus leverage synergies from other electric vehicle projects in the Group. The standardized system will be designed for all body structures and vehicle types, thus allowing particularly emotional vehicle concepts, and will enable an all-electric range of 250 to 500 kilometers.

Phaeton redefined – the future is electric
The Volkswagen Phaeton has embodied the brand’s technological competence and brand ambition from the first generation onward. The future generation of the Phaeton will once again be the flagship for the brand’s profile over the next decade. In light of this, the Board of Management redefined the current project. The specification features a pure electric drive with long-distance capability, connectivity and next-generation assistance systems as well as an emotional design.

http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/news/2015/10/VW_Effizienz.html

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Indeed. I hope this comes to fruition.

I'm intrigued by the MEB in particular, as it sounds like it will allow for much longer range EVs than are possible on the MQB (eGolf) platform. I assume MQB just doesn't have enough space for more batteries, and will rely on batteries becoming more energy dense. So I wonder what MEB will look like. Since it's dedicated electric, maybe it will be a "skateboard" design?

This news has me hopeful that VW will have something to compete with Nissan/Tesla/GM when they release their Leaf 2.0/Model III/Bolt in 2-3 years.

 

[miimura]

MQB is more about drivetrain, suspension, etc. I think if they chose to make a EV specific body that had more room for batteries, then they could freely do that within the MQB system.

Even though the body shell of the e-Golf is the same as the other Golf models, I'm pretty sure that the floorpan is unique to provide battery mounting points and the humps under the front seats that house additional batteries.

 

[JoulesThief]

MQB is more about drivetrain, suspension, etc. I think if they chose to make a EV specific body that had more room for batteries, then they could freely do that within the MQB system.

Even though the body shell of the e-Golf is the same as the other Golf models, I'm pretty sure that the floorpan is unique to provide battery mounting points and the humps under the front seats that house additional batteries.

The humps in the pan are obvious, if you try to fit a set of Golf Monster mats in an e-Golf.