The Volkswagen Group’s drawback with the all-new APP550 drive models for MEB-based electrical vehicles is perhaps greater than initially thought.
In accordance with Handelsblatt (through Electrive), the manufacturing quantity of the brand new APP550 rear-wheel drive unit (210 kW / 286 PS and 550 Nm) is considerably restricted.
The constraints are so massive that it already affected the Zwicaku and Emden crops in Germany, inflicting Zwickau’s manufacturing halt of Volkswagen ID.4, Volkswagen ID.5, Audi This autumn e-tron, and Audi This autumn Sportback e-tron. Quickly, the manufacturing can be restricted at Skoda’s plant in Mlada Boleslav within the Czech Republic too, which implies fewer Skoda Enyaq iVs. Handelsblatt studies {that a} Skoda spokeswoman confirmed that the scarcity of APP550 models will have an effect on the Skoda Enyaq iV in November and December. The Cupra Tavascan (manufacturing in China for Europe) could possibly be affected too.
The one excellent news is that the U.S. manufacturing unit for the Volkswagen ID.4 and Chinese language manufacturing of the MEB-based fashions for the native market proceed to be unaffected.
The European fashions, geared up with the unique APP310 electrical motor (150 kW and 310 Nm), could be produced with out disruption (though they’re disrupted due to inadequate demand for the ID.3 and Cupra Born).
In accordance with Handelsblatt, two folks conversant in the matter confirmed that the difficulty with the APP550 is expounded to the ramp-up of the manufacturing line: “In accordance with the insiders, the issue lies with a system that produces stators for the APP550. The plant can at the moment solely attain round 30 p.c of the technically promised capability. Over 50 VW staff are working in a activity pressure to rectify the issue.”
There are additionally studies that Volkswagen is making an attempt to redirect the out there APP550 motors to the Emden plant to no less than restrict the disruption of the ID.7 and ID.4 manufacturing there, however even in Emden, there was a five-day break.
Properly, the brand new APP550 electrical motors aren’t solely extra highly effective than the unique APP310 but additionally extra environment friendly to enhance the driving vary. Nonetheless, it is not excellent news that Volkswagen Group cannot produce sufficient of them.
With the restricted APP550 provide, the Volkswagen Group would possibly simply lose a five-digit manufacturing variety of the MEB-based vehicles in This autumn. It might undercut the corporate’s all-electric automobile gross sales outcomes, additional growing the gap to Tesla and BYD.