The Volkswagen group is heavily involved in electrification, and already offers several vehicles under its various banners. There’s the Volkswagen brand, of course, but also Porsche and Audi, as far as North America is concerned.
However, the group is struggling with software development glitches, if news from Germany is anything to go by. The daily Handelsblatt reports that several of Volkswagen's next-generation electric vehicles will be delayed due to software problems related to the new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).
Current models are built on the MEB (Modularer E-Antriebs Baukasten) structure. The ID. Buzz SUV, due to arrive before the end of this year, is assembled on that architecture so is not affected.
Among the models to be postponed is the next iteration of the ID.4 SUV. Its launch now won’t happen until 2029, 15 months later than planned. Another future SUV currently code-named T-Sport is also mentioned, with an arrival in 2031.
That's a long way off. According to Manager magazine, one reason for postponing the launch of these models to such late dates is so VW can better stagger their arrival with others on the calendar.
Another reason given is the desire to extend the life of the current MEB platform, which the SSP structure is intended to replace. Production of vehicles based on the MEB platform only began in 2020, so this solution is still very new. The Volkswagen Group has since launched an updated version, the MEB+, and the company is working on a more affordable version called the MEB Entry. The latter should make its debut in 2025 with a production version of the ID.2all concept.
What we don't know yet is whether delays will affect vehicles from other Volkswagen Group brands. These, too, will eventually use the SSP platform. Note that Porsche, in collaboration with Audi, has developed the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) structure that currently serves the Macan and Q6 e-tron at Audi.
Porsche is also said to be working on a Sport version of the SSP platform. This would be reserved for Volkswagen's top-of-the-range vehicles.
Volkswagen the company is turning to other manufacturers to solve some of its software problems. Recall that the company recently announced a $5-billion shareholding in Rivian, which will enable it to benefit from the expertise of the startup EV maker.