Volkswagen's Diesel Scandal Speeds Up Development Of Electrified Drive Lines

New Phaeton will be the all-electric flagship

By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor

THE HAGUE- October 15, 2015: Explaining the skullduggery, cheating of Volkswagen itself is not necessary. The issue has been addressed in the media in such a noisy way that you may think that all drivers of a Volkswagen diesel model are – as one of my Dutch colleagues said: “mass murderers, who are threatening mankind with huge clouds of NOx and particles.” It is all hugely exaggerated, but that is life, a weak animal will always fall prey to its opponents.

It remains unclear if the mid and/or higher ranked executives who could have known of the cheating would have had the idea to come away with it. Usually cheating will be discovered sooner or later?

At the moment, Volkswagen has no time to investigate when and where the cheating was initiated. The company was under huge pressure and decided to take full measures in order to limit the damage of the emissions scandal All eleven million EA 189 diesel engines that have been produced and are in one of the models of VW and its sister brands will be recalled to get an update of the program of the Bosch EDC engine management... Just to be sure, and independent of whether the software had been manipulated or not.

Cleaner diesels
In light of the developments around ‘dieselgate’, I looked up an article that I wrote at somewhat the same time the cheating was discovered. Volkswagen had just announced a change-of-course and a decision to concentrate more on the development of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars. The message was that in the near future there will be some kind of electrification for all Volkswagen and Audi models. According to people who attended a series of interviews with VW at the IAA auto show in Frankfurt, it could well be possible that some conventional gasoline and diesel models would be discontinued. Even Bentley and Porsche will not escape from the application of battery packs. The super deluxe division comes with a plug-in SUV and Porsche with an electric 911, as became clear at the unveiling of the spectacular-looking 600 hp Mission E Concept car, which has a driving range of 300 miles and can be charged in 15 minutes..

Cutting investments
Earlier this week, the board of directors announced its plans to move on. To deal with the crisis the company will cut its investments by 1 billion Euros per year and will focus on the development of electric drivelines. Volkswagen will switch over to install the cleanest diesel models in Europe and North America. For insiders: to diesel drives with SCr and AdBlue technology. Diesel cars will be equipped with exhaust emission systems that use the best environmental technology.

Electrification important
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen passenger cars, announced that the brand is repositioning itself for the future. “We are becoming more efficient, we are giving our product range and our core technologies a new focus.”

It was decided to switch over to installing only diesel drives with SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction), and AdBlue technology in Europe and North America as soon as possible. Diesel vehicles will only be equipped with exhaust emissions systems that use the best environmental technology.

New Phaeton will be all-electric flagship Dr. Diess said that the next Phaeton will be the brand’s pure electric flag ship, showcasing the next generation pure electric drive with long-distance capability, connectivity, next-generation assistance systems and emotional design. This could well mean that the new generation Phaeton is based on the stunning Volkswagen C Coupe GTE, a concept car that debuted at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show.

Furthermore, electric technology will be used across the complete line up, including sports cars and will offer a range between 150 and more than 300 miles.

MQB and MEB
Volkswagen Passenger Cars will further develop its MQB (modular transverse platform) that is (going to be) used by the brands of the Group. The focus is on high-volume plug-in hybrids with a range of up to 185 miles, a 48-volt power supply system (mild hybrid) as well as ever more efficient diesel, petrol and CNG concepts.

An MEB (modular electric platform) will be developed for use in the compact models and is based on the experience with existing platforms. It will be a multi-brand platform for passenger cars as well as light commercial vehicle project of the Group. A standardized system is going to be designed for all body structures and vehicle types and will enable an all-electric range of 155-310 miles.

This fall, Audi will make the start at the North American market with their electric A3 e-tron (base price $ 37,900). Then the Volkswagen brand will introduce its GTE PHEV products. As the technology is based on the MQB platform, both the Golf and the next generation Passat can be equipped with the technology.

Tesla gave a push
Before the diesel scandal that resulted in the suspension of Ulrich Hackenberg, Wolfgang Hatz and Dr. Heinz Jacob Neusser (development chiefs of Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen, respectively), they warned that charging the batteries is still a potential problem. Volkswagen urgently wants to expand public charging stations in the U.S., especially those facilities where cars like the upcoming Audi e-tron quattro SUV and Porsche Mission E can be charged in half an hour to 80 percent. Dr. Neusser said that Tesla is a serious challenge: "Tesla has given the market a push in the back. We do not need to learn from their cars, but we have to be forced to anticipate faster.”

From now on, it is up to the successors of the trio to make the most of the new strategy in order to get the wheels of the Volkswagen Group back on the track.