Volkswagen AG promised to reduce battery costs by 66%

Heinz-Jakob Neusser says that Volkswagen AG is targeting a 66 percent cost reduction with a design (Single Cell Design) that would be packaged into modules customized for each vehicle.

5/12/15 5:00 am chumakdenis 1

Volkswagen AG takes a leap forward into the future and aims to scale its electric powertrain production costs down by 66% using a unified battery cell.

Heinz-Jakob Neusser, VW's board member in charge of development, says the group is targeting a 66 percent cost reduction with a design that would be packaged into modules customized for each vehicle.

"We have a clear understanding in the group of a common cell," Neusser said during a roundtable at the auto show. "That means each member of the group, each brand, uses the same cell. Otherwise, we cannot get the synergies out of this development."

What does VW use now?

Volkswagen currently uses multiple types of lithium ion cells. For example, Panasonic supplies cells for the e-Golf, Golf GTE plug-in hybrid and Audi A3 e-tron, while Samsung supplies cells for the upcoming Passat GTE and Audi electrified vehicles.

New batteries mean more opportunities

A single design would enable greater utilization of the group's battery module assembly plant in Braunschweig, Germany. Multiple suppliers could be used to source the single cell design, a spokesman said.

Production

Neusser didn’t release terms of production as well as he didn’t release list of the vehicles where the new batteries will be used, but we’ll know it within half of a year.

So, let’s wait and hope that the new battery technology under development at U.S. startup QuantumScape Corporation will be ready for use in its electric cars.