Written by/
Editor/ Zhang Nan
Design / Zhao Haoran
For Volkswagen, 2021 is a watershed year for a decade.
In October 2015, a month after the Volkswagen diesel incident, executives gathered in the administrative office building in Wolfsburg, Germany, to discuss countermeasures, when Herbert Diess, then head of the Volkswagen brand's automotive production department, presided over a meeting, and after several hours of discussion, he and other executives unanimously decided to develop a completely emission-free car.
In the next five years, Volkswagen's market value rebounded, sales picked up, and the electrification transformation began. Dees, who has been promoted to CEO, has led Volkswagen out of its darkest days, and his next task is to join Volkswagen in maintaining a decades-long advantage in the new era of smart electric vehicles.
The Volkswagen Group China plans to deliver about 1.5 million new energy vehicles per year by 2025.
China and electrification are two key words for Diess in the next five years. Since taking office, for the world's largest market, Diess has not hesitated to emphasize the importance of China on different occasions: "Volkswagen's future is determined by China", "China has become the new core driving force of the global automotive industry", "China is more important than ever"...
In other words, as Volkswagen's largest single market in the world, China is stronger than Volkswagen.
The reality is not disappointing, since the first model was launched, in just 7 months, the ID. family based on the MEB platform has accounted for more than half of the sales of new energy models of the Volkswagen brand. In October, the Volkswagen brand ranked third in China's new energy vehicle market.
Dr. Feng Sihan, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Car Brand China, said: "With the strong growth of new energy model sales and the sales of ID. family models launched this year exceeding 10,000, the electrification transformation of the Volkswagen brand in China is accelerating. ”
Volkswagen's wings
In the face of the determined future of electrification, traditional auto giants are also facing a choice, some brands are reluctant to prematurely eliminate higher-profit fuel vehicles, compared with Volkswagen's determination to electrify.
Since 2017, Volkswagen has been constantly refreshing its flag. This year, Volkswagen electrification has accelerated again. In 2030, 70% of Volkswagen's sales in the European market will be contributed by EV products, double the previous plan of 35%. In the United States and China, the Volkswagen brand plans to make pure electric vehicle sales account for more than 50% of the brand's total sales by 2030.
In addition, starting in 2021, Volkswagen will launch at least one new pure electric model around the world every year. Its ultimate goal is to become a global leader in the production of electric vehicles.
In the era of traditional fuel vehicles, platformization is the core competitiveness of Volkswagen, and it is also one of the secrets for Volkswagen to maintain its leading position. With the blessing of the platform, Volkswagen has quickly realized the iterative upgrading of product technology, further shortening the development, production and listing cycle of automobiles, and generalizing parts and assemblies can greatly improve R&D efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs.
In the era of electric vehicles, Volkswagen has brought the first exclusive pure electric platform of traditional car companies around the world - MEB modular electric drive platform.
MEB integrates Volkswagen's cutting-edge production technology and is a newly designed platform based on the future of mobility, intelligence, and connectivity. One of the outstanding features of the MEB platform is its high scalability, which can derive different types of products on the same platform. That is to say, through the MEB platform, not only can the possibilities of electric vehicles be fully tapped, but also the economies of scale can be realized, and electric vehicles can become more popular.
In terms of products, in China, the pioneer of global electrification, Volkswagen has brought the ID.4 family and the ID.6 family specially built for the Chinese market, and the European sales champion ID.3 has also been listed.
It is worth mentioning that while vigorously developing electric products, Volkswagen's fuel vehicles continue to maintain their advantages in the Chinese SUV market.
Sedan products remain an important pillar of Volkswagen brand sales in China, accounting for more than 60% of the brand's total sales; the SUV lineup continues to expand, covering 16 SUV models and 3 hybrid versions.
SuVs and cars fly on both wings, fuel vehicles and electric vehicles walk on two legs, in the period of change in the automotive industry, Volkswagen does not seem to be flustered, the pace of progress is orderly.
ID. Family China Assembled
As a traditional giant, Volkswagen has advantages in scale and scale, but in the final analysis, it still depends on products. Under the MEB platform, Volkswagen has the opportunity to rethink car design and provide consumers with a variety of product options.
In the Chinese market, the ID.family models are currently available in three different battery capacity options: 55 kWh, 62 kWh and 83 kWh. Taking the ID.6 equipped with 83 kWh as an example, the rear-drive version has a maximum output of 150 kW and a comprehensive operating range (NEDC) of up to 580 km or more. The all-wheel drive version is equipped with dual motors, with a maximum output of 230 kilowatts and acceleration from stationary to 100 kilometers per hour in just 6 seconds.
In addition, Volkswagen's MEB models have achieved efficient charging in China. The ID. family is equipped with the latest AC and DC charging technology. With a home charging wall box, up to 7 kW of AC charging power is available. When using DC fast charging piles such as CAMS, the charging power can be up to 100 kilowatts, and it takes only 35-45 minutes to charge the power from 0 to 80%.
In terms of products, rooted in China for many years, Volkswagen understands the needs of Chinese consumers better than other brands.
For the safety that Chinese consumers care about most, the ID. family body uses a large number of high-strength steel plates, as well as ultra-high-strength thermoformed steel plates comparable to the strength of the aircraft landing gear, to ensure the safety of the crew compartment in the event of a collision. In the European and American crash tests, which are known for their rigors, ID.3 and ID.4 both received the highest rating standard of five stars from Euro NCAP in Europe, and ID.4 was also rated top SAFETY PICK+ by IIHS in the United States. In addition, the SAIC Volkswagen ID.4 X is the first model to receive excellent evaluations in all four items tested by the China Insurance Auto Safety Index C-IASI.
The MEB platform is also ready for intelligent networking, new in-vehicle assistance systems, comfort systems, infotainment systems, control and display systems... All enable innovative integrations on the platform. Pure electric models based on the MEB platform are always online, providing fully digital vehicles and services.
For example, in terms of intelligent driving, IQ, which focuses on Travel Assist 2.0 driver assistance, is the main one. Drive Autonomous Driving Assistance System, through 4 surround view cameras, 1 multi-function camera, 8 ultrasonic radars, 3 millimeter wave radars and Mobileye EyeQ4 driver assistance system chip, can achieve L2+ level automatic driving assistance functions.
Relying on a new platform, fully mastering battery technology, producing attractive electrified products that meet China's needs, the traditional auto giants with an annual output of millions of fuel vehicles are rapidly expanding the production scale of electric vehicles. At the end of 2020, two plants in Foshan and Anting will start producing pure electric models based on the MEB modular electric drive platform, with a total annual production capacity of 600,000 units.
The auto market has entered the knockout rounds, and China has become the eye of the storm. In this contest of life and death, no one wants to be abandoned by the times. Electric vehicles have become the core business of Volkswagen, and its performance in the Chinese market will determine the future of Volkswagen. In this familiar land, Volkswagen has shown the determination to win, and has also tasted the taste of victory in the first battle, and it will take time to verify whether it can successfully hold the position of king.