Lighter, punchier batteries key to VW’s new, cheaper ID.2 and ID.1 EVs
VW is ready to use new battery technology to drive down the cost of its new, affordable electric cars
New generation battery tech – with good energy density and lighter weight – will enable Volkswagen to make EVs more affordable for European buyers.
The Polo-sized ID.2 – due in 2026 – should have an entry price close to £20,000, and the 2027 ID.1 production version of the ID.Every1 concept could come in around £17,000. Today’s cheapest electric Volkswagen is the £30,000 ID.3 hatchback.
VW’s baby BEVs are switching to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which use raw materials that are typically cheaper than the Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) cathode design powering the current ID range. LFP isn’t as energy dense as NMC but Volkswagen will overcome that by cramming more cells into its cars using a new ‘cell-to-pack’ system.
Cell-to-pack battery design
The thinking is similar to the Blade battery of Chinese car maker BYD, which layers long cells across its battery pack to boost energy density. The MEB31 battery module in today’s VW EVs needs a series of metal ribs to hold the rectangular modules in place, unnecessary structure the new design can jettison.
“The usable space is much better, we can pack in more energy density and it’s lighter,” says VW engineer Malte Schulz. As a result, VW can get sufficient battery cells into the ID.1’s short wheelbase, while trimming some weight given that the Up! replacement has only a 94bhp motor.
The new cell-to-pack design is scalable to boost cost competitiveness: the same layout can also accommodate higher performance NMC cells for Porsche and Audi models. In the initial stages they won’t be a ‘cell-to-body’ design – where the battery pack forms a structural part of the car, as in BYD’s Seal – though Volkswagen says this will come in the next stage.
Batteries made in Europe
The batteries will be manufactured in Europe, with pilot production underway at the Salzgitter gigafactory in Lower Saxony owned by VW spin-off PowerCo.
“The battery cell is the combustion chamber of tomorrow,” says Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume. “It’s a core competency for VW Group, so we need the engineering knowledge and to own production. Salzgitter will ramp up this year.”
The plant will have a capacity of around 40 gigawatthours, and cell production could be split between LFP and NMC chemistries.
Another 60gWh will come on stream at PowerCo’s second European plant in Valencia, Spain, in 2026. A third factory is underway in Ontario, Canada, with up to 90gWh, which is due to open in 2027. That gives PowerCo and Volkswagen a capacity of around 200gWh.
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