Volkswagen Group’s bug-plagued software program has gotten numerous consideration, with product delays for its Audi and Porsche manufacturers making headlines and contributing to the ousting of Herbert Diess as CEO.
The automaker additionally lags behind the competitors in one other respect that has flown comparatively beneath the radar: charging instances for its battery-electric automobiles
The VW ID4 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are equally priced autos, beginning round $50,000 for his or her 77 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery variations.
However the ID4 takes greater than double the time to cost to 200 km (124 miles) of vary, with the 2 clocking in at 20 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively.
One of many engineering selections that has put Hyundai towards the pinnacle of the pack on this regard was its adoption of an 800-volt structure. This allows its automobile batteries to extra shortly soak up electrical energy at greater energy by decreasing the present, which generally is a limiting issue for different autos.
VW Group introduced an 800-volt system to market forward of others with the Porsche Taycan electrical sedan that debuted in 2019, however determined in opposition to providing it throughout extra fashions, not less than for a couple of years. That call, presumably having to do with expense, could have lacked imaginative and prescient.
BloombergNEF’s newest analysis into ultra-fast charging finds that 24 automakers are adopting 800-volt expertise, together with established gamers Stellantis, Toyota and Normal Motors, and China’s Nio, Xpeng and BYD.
Throughout VW’s Energy Day presentation final yr, executives described plans to undertake solid-state batteries in sure autos after 2025 and mentioned their goal was to supply autos that cost to 80 % from 10 % in 12 minutes.
VW’s EVs would want to cost at considerably greater powers than the present lineup, doubtless resulting in adoption of 800-volt expertise.
In equity to VW, there’s some debate about whether or not placing this expertise into smaller, less-luxurious autos makes strategic sense.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and CTO Drew Baglino questioned this throughout an earnings name in April, saying the benefits of shifting the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y over to 800 volts could be restricted and the associated fee could be excessive.
Tesla is managing to achieve related charging powers with 400-volt programs that different autos obtain with 800-volt options.
It’s unclear if the corporate can squeeze extra out of its 400-volt programs, although, and Musk and Baglino did say an 800-volt system was into consideration for Tesla’s bigger Semi and Cybertruck fashions.
As the marketplace for 800-volt parts grows and automakers and their suppliers innovate, the associated fee hole will slender and 800-volt expertise might take extra of the market. Corporations together with ZF Friedrichshafen, Schaeffler and Marelli have just lately introduced 800-volt parts.
Hyundai’s willingness to undertake 800-volt expertise has not translated to domination of the EV market, because the producer has not been capable of fulfill demand.
Within the present provide chain local weather, shortly taking supply of most EV fashions is difficult, with consumers ready greater than a yr in some instances. With the ability to produce at scale is among the largest aggressive benefits.
Tesla is way out in entrance, managing to ship about 411,000 Mannequin Ys in Europe, the U.S. and Canada within the final 18 months, in contrast with roughly 100,000 VW ID4s and 56,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5s. However even Tesla has been manufacturing constrained, with simply 18 % of these gross sales occurring in Europe.
What’s worrying for VW is that ID4 gross sales have had longer to select up than the Ioniq 5 however have been decrease within the first half of this yr, with simply 5,300 ID4s offered within the US and Canada in comparison with greater than 17,200 for the Ioniq 5.
Shopper demand for the quickest and most modern issues — whether or not they use them or not — shouldn’t be underestimated. Neither ought to the variety of drivers who will use quick charging extra repeatedly.
Whereas VW should still be jostling for charging superiority on its future autos, the dearth of this expertise throughout its present lineup carries danger — some shoppers are going to look elsewhere for a battery that tops up faster.