The company will start testing the truncated development timeframe with the ID. 2 and two other models. The initial design sketches of the ID. 2, a compact electric vehicle, were finalized last December, and the launch is scheduled for the close of 2025.
Kai Grunitz, the leader of VW’s technical development department, concedes that the reduced timelines do come with risks. Nonetheless, he points out that Volkswagen has specific plans to mitigate these risks without compromising quality. These plans encompass the creation of new simulation tools and methodologies for validating development tasks. Teams will also streamline the process by cutting back on some road tests and decreasing the number of test cycles. One example is limiting cold-weather testing to a single winter, instead of the usual two or three.
To further expedite development, VW intends to collaborate more intensively with its suppliers to incorporate new technologies and ideas. This should help reduce uncertainties that usually prolong the development cycle and impact quality. Grunitz mentioned the difficulties experienced in the development of the eighth-generation Golf and the ID.3, emphasizing that VW has no plans to release any future models "with thousands of faults."
To effectively compete with Chinese manufacturers like BYD, Volkswagen will need to produce high-quality vehicles within the shorter 36-month cycle. Although aware of the hurdles, Grunitz points to BYD's success, attributable to its agility, platform strategies, battery innovations, and cost-effectiveness. By following a similar blueprint and implementing the strategies he recently outlined, Grunitz is confident that VW can achieve this.
Source: Autocar
