Future Volkswagen Electric Models Will Get Bidirectional Charging Capability

author: Manish Kharinta   

Volkswagen's new fully-electric ID.4 SUV is the first of many new models from the automaker.

German automaker Volkswagen appears to be carrying out its electrification strategy quite successfully. We reported last week that the company intends to purchase emission credits from Tesla to support its operations in the Chinese market.

Now the company has revealed that starting next year, all future Volkswagen's MEB-based models will get bidirectional charging capability. The modular MEB EV platform is designed to be the basic building block for Volkswagen's future electric vehicles.

With bidirectional charging capabilities, Volkswagen's future EVs could be capable of establishing a vehicle-to-grid interface. With advancements in battery technology, it has become evident that modern EV battery packs are incredibly efficient. The global automotive industry was particularly concerned about the depreciation of the battery cells if used for other purposes, but as battery cell technology improves that's less of a concern.

The concerns over battery cell depreciation also made many automakers apprehensive about adopting electrification when the EV movement was still in its early years, which gave Tesla a big headstart over other automakers.

Now with the popularity of electric vehicles at an all-time high, the number of EVs hitting the road is growing every day. As the world adopts electrification at an accelerating rate, it is becoming imperative that automakers and government authorities will need to devise a strategy for charging infrastructure.

The situation demands a clear plan of action that observes the limits of the local electric grid, while formulating time frames during which owners can recharge their battery-powered vehicles. 

This will help ensure that millions of EVs will not overwhelm the grid, which seems quite counterproductive, as far as establishing a sustainable form of transportation is concerned, as many electrical grids are powered by natural gas or coal.

Volkswagen's bidirectional charging feature will also allow its vehicles to share their residual charge with other vehicles, and the power can even be redistributed back to the local electric grid. 

Many electric vehicle makers are considering introducing bidirectional charging into their offerings, as a way to subsidize their electric utility costs.

Companies with a large enough fleet of electric vehicles can support the local electric grid in a major capacity. For their services, the EV companies will be compensated with a discount on their electric utility costs. 

Currently, the Nissan Leaf is the only offering in the EV segment that comes equipped with bidirectional charging.

It is also worth noting that other car manufacturers like Tesla, Hyundai and Lucid Motors have also announced that their future models will also come equipped with bidirectional charging capacity.

In other news, VW recently released two teaser images of its forthcoming ID.6 crossover. The new battery-powered SUV will be based on VW's MEB platform, and it will make its global debut at the upcoming 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. 

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.