In a new announcement, Volkswagen confirmed that all electric vehicles that are underpinned by its MEB-platform will support bidirectional charging starting next year.
It had already been confirmed that VW was working on bidirectional charging technology to switch its MEB-based electric vehicles as they unveiled a wall charger in 2020. However, there was no word on when they would integrate it into their vehicles.
Now we have confirmation that the German group will switch every new electric vehicle based on the MEB platform to be equipped with bidirectional charging capacity starting next year (via Handelsblatt): “The test vehicles are running, we are in the last pulls with the preparations,” confirms VW Development Board Member Thomas Ulbrich in an interview with the Handelsblatt. From 2022 onwards, every electric car from the Volkswagen Group that is developed on the basis of the MEB (“modular electrification kit”) electrical platform can not only charge the electricity but also return it to the grid. In addition to VW, the MEB is also used by the sister brands Audi , Skoda and Seat-Cupra.
Considering Volkswagen could produce upwards of 300,000 vehicles with the capability of returning electricity to the grid, it could result ins huge boost to the grid it self.