Volkswagen has acknowledged that the brand's current electric vehicles are still significantly less profitable than internal combustion models. This was stated by the company's CFO, Arno Antlitz, during a quarterly report.
According to him, profitability parity with internal combustion engines will only be achieved after transitioning to the new SSP platform.
SSP - Volkswagen's main focus
SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) is set to become the next generation architecture for Volkswagen Group's electric vehicles. It will replace the current MEB and PPE platforms.
Currently, MEB is used for the Volkswagen ID family, while PPE underpins more expensive models like the Audi A6 e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and electric Porsche Macan and Cayenne.
Volkswagen expects that SSP will reduce production costs by about 20% compared to MEB. The platform was initially planned to launch this year, but now its debut is expected closer to the end of the decade.
New batteries slightly improve the situation
An interim solution will be the upgraded MEB Plus architecture. It provides for the use of cheaper LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries and cell-to-pack configuration, where cells are integrated directly into the battery pack without separate modules.
According to Antlitz, this already allows for reducing the profitability gap between electric and gasoline models.
ID.2 Cross still lags behind
As an example, Volkswagen cited the future ID.2 Cross. Its profitability is about 70-80% of a comparable internal combustion model.
This is an important indicator for the industry. The low margin explains why many manufacturers initially focus on expensive electric SUVs and pickups - they are easier to profit from.
