VW working on new, powerful engine for ID. Electric car

VW is preparing a new, high-performance, energy-efficient motor for the ID. Electric Cars. The APP550 rear-axle motor produces 210 kW and 550 Nm of torque and is expected to be delivered in the first vehicles by the end of 2023.

The new VW APP550 motor in detail

The conceptual framework for VW’s new APP550 electric powertrain remains the Modular E-Drive Toolkit (MEB), which continues to serve as the platform for the Volkswagen Group’s electric vehicles.

The difficulty, therefore, was to develop a drive that “creates significant improvements in performance and efficiency despite the same framework conditions,” reveals Karsten Bennewitz, Head of Powertrain and Energy Systems in Technical Development.

The new APP550 drive is located on the rear axle and delivers 210 kW (286 hp). It achieves a maximum torque of 550 Newton meters – a significant increase over the previous model, which should ensure even more confident power delivery – even from a standstill.

“The high torque of the electric drive is achieved by the new APP550 through a further developed stator with a high effective number of turns and a larger wire cross-section,” Volkswagen explains. For this purpose, the rotor was equipped as a counterpart with stronger and higher-load permanent magnets and reinforced to cope with the increased force.

Optimized thermal management increases efficiency

In thermal management in particular, Volkswagen has optimized a number of components to increase the efficiency of the drive. For example, the new powertrain has an energy-saving cooling system that operates without an electrically driven oil pump.

With the help of gearwheels in the transmission and specially shaped components that independently transfer and distribute the oil, the VW APP550 electric motor is thus able to cool itself independently. The heated oil is cooled by the vehicle’s cooling circuit, which keeps the drive at operating temperature.

The new drive with gearbox, rotor and stator will be manufactured at the Volkswagen Group Components site in Kassel, where drives for electric cars have now been produced for 10 years.

The new motor is then scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will be used in the first vehicles. The new ID.7 is likely to appear too early for this, while the ID.2 will be too late. So it remains exciting, let’s be surprised.