Concept development: from the e‑Golf1 to the modular electric drive matrix
Concept development: from the e‑Golf1 to the modular electric drive matrix
With the new ID.3, this team of experts from different fields have developed an electric car to ring in the new era of sustainable mobility. Here, you can see how challenging and pioneering their work is.
1. e‑Golf (electricity consumption combined 13.8 - 12.9 kWh/100 km, electricity CO₂ emissions combined 0 g/km, efficiency class A+)
Becoming ID.: Over the past few years, a team of developers with a wide range of skills spanning diverse disciplines has created a vehicle that is set to lead environmentally friendly mobility into a new era – the ID.3. A weekly interview series about the “minds behind the scenes” reveals just how moving, challenging and ground-breaking their work is. Marco Könnemann, Concept Pre-Development MEB Platform, describes his moments of success, and explains why an electric car is now an option for him.
What inspired you the most when developing the ID. family?
We have really grown together as a team with this project because the ID. family is not simply an on-going development but a completely new development. When we began developing our concept, the first lines were basically drawn on a blank sheet of paper. The most exciting thing for me is to see how our initial ideas have transformed into such a pioneering vehicle.
At what point did you realise that electric mobility is about to make a breakthrough for everyone?
When, in the course of development, a constant range of more than 500 kilometres became possible with the large battery (77 kWh). That’s a really fantastic result because with the ID.3 I can now travel long distances comfortably and without problems. If the charging infrastructure follows suit, people will quickly gain confidence in e-mobility.
I find it most exciting to see how our initial ideas have developed into such a pioneering car.Marco KönnemannPreconcept development, MEB platform
In detail: which technology do you find most fascinating in the new ID.3?
For me, it is the power of the electric drive, in particular. Because the full torque right from the start, the almost lightning fast start when accelerating is pure pleasure.
What was the biggest challenge you faced over the entire course of the project?
Initially, we carried out research on Group vehicles and focused on the
e‑Golf, in particular. How is its platform designed? What is the battery like? We quickly realised that we needed a new approach to produce more cost-effectively and offer scalable battery systems. From then on, the greatest challenge was to integrate the high-voltage battery into the underbody of the vehicle as compactly as possible. The result is a large battery shaped like a block of chocolate that is ideally installed in the vehicle underbody.
What will you take away from this project personally?
An electric vehicle is now also an option for me. With a 90 kilometres commute every day, I have been sceptical about e-mobility so far. I am impressed with the dynamic driving character of pure battery vehicles.
Talking about the MEB: What special technical features make the modular electric drive matrix unique worldwide?
The MEB architecture is based on our modular platform strategy, which enables many different models and body shapes for our Group brands. This means that our customers benefit from a wealth of new and affordable electric vehicles.
