The all-new Volkswagen ID.Golf and other models based on the Volkswagen Group's new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) might enter the market later than expected.
According to a German publication, Manager Magazin (via Electrive), the market launch of the Volkswagen ID.Golf has been postponed by 15 months to 2029, while a large SUV called the T-Sport will not be ready until 2031, three years later than initially planned.
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More challenges ahead of Volkswagen
Volkswagen struggles to substantially increase its current electric car sales. The first half of the year brought a slight decline, and now it seems that next-generation models might be launched later than planned.
The article says that the Volkswagen Group Board of Management made the decision to postpone SSP-based models on 2 July, although there is no official confirmation.
According to the report, several reasons behind the postponement exist, including the one that has affected Volkswagen for a long time—software issues. The all-new E3 2.0 software architecture for the SSP platform, developed in-house by Volkswagen's software subsidiary Cariad, is behind schedule.
The recent announcement that Volkswagen is teaming up with Rivian on software, through a $5 billion agreement would be a sign that the software really might be an issue. There is also an unofficial hint that initially the SSP would use an "Adapted E/E Architecture", before switching to Volkswagen-Rivian-developed software in early 2030.
The Volkswagen Group will have no choice but to use the current MEB, new MEB+ platforms, including the MEB-Small announced in 2021, and the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE), longer than initially planned. The SSP was expected to replace almost all other platforms with several versions of SSP and unified battery cells—at least that was the plan in 2021.
