The Volkswagen Group has reached an important production milestone for its purpose-built modular electric drive (MEB) platform, with one million electric vehicles built using it so far at eight factories across the world.
The news came via the group’s official Twitter account, where the German company said that the milestone was reached with help from five of its brands: Audi, Cupra, Skoda, Volkswagen, and Volkswagen commercial.
VW’s MEB was officially unveiled in 2018 as the firm accelerated its EV expansion strategy and is currently the backbone on which multiple vehicles are based. No less than 14 vehicles use the MEB platform currently, ranging from the Audi Q4 e-tron to the recently unveiled Volkswagen ID.7 all-electric sedan that will go on sale in the United States next year.
Ford also uses the German-developed platform for its European-bound Explorer electric crossover, all while working on its own in-house technology for the United States market.
Fisker, the maker of the zero-emissions Ocean, was in negotiations with Volkswagen about using the firm’s MEB platform for the electric SUV, but in the end, the American EV startup went with Magna’s own technology and decided to build its first-ever series production model in Austria.
Two electric motors are available for MEB-based vehicles: the APP 310 permanent magnet brushless motor that can produce up to 229 pound-feet of torque (310 Newton-meters) and the newer AP 550 that was unveiled in April and can deliver up to 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque, as the name suggests. In the updated Skoda Enyaq, the AP 550 motor produces 210 kilowatts (282 horsepower), while the pre-update Enyaq had an output of 150 kW (201 hp).
The Volkswagen Group is already working on the next iteration of the MEB platform, dubbed MEB+, which will enable higher charging speeds of 175-200 kW, compared to the 135-170 kW currently available on the MEB architecture. Additionally, future EVs based on MEB+ will be able to drive up to 435 miles (700 kilometers) on a single charge, up from the current maximum of 342 miles (550 km).
