With ID.4, Volkswagen Shows It Cares About Vertical Integration

Volkswagen Group Components contributes around 40% of the overall added value of the ID.4.

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Technical Cutaway

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Nov 30, 2020 at 8:44am ET

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Volkswagen Group Components has released a brief summary of its involvement in the essential components for the Volkswagen ID.4 and in general for MEB-based electric cars.

As it turns out, the company contributes around 40% of the overall added value of the ID.4, which is 10% more than usual, in the case of conventional models.

Using several plants, Volkswagen Group Components is producing in-house the drive units and single-speed transmission as well as battery systems (cells come from external suppliers). Plus tons of general car parts:

Volkswagen Group Components delivers essential components for Volkswagen’s ID.4

It's interesting to see that the Group is self-sufficient in many areas, although it still relies on suppliers as well - for example Vitesco Technologies (part of Continental) produces the drive control unit for ID.3 (possibly also for other models).

Volkswagen Group Components CEO Thomas Schmall said that the company is expected to become one of the largest manufacturers of automotive e-components in the foreseeable future.

The lead plant for electric drives is the Kassel site in Germany, supported by parts from Salzgitter, Hannover and Poznań. In China, drive units are produced at the Tianjin factory.

"The Components factory in Kassel delivers the electric drives and platform parts for the ID.4 and other MEB vehicles for Europe and North America. As part of the transformation, the Group’s largest site for the manufacture of gearboxes now also specialises in building electric drives.

The core elements – rotor and stator – are delivered by the components factory in Salzgitter.

Motors, gearboxes and intermediate housings are cast at the sites in Hannover, Poznań and Kassel. All of the components belonging to an electric drive, including the 1-gear transmission from Kassel, are assembled on-site."

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Technical Cutaway

The Brunswick plant is focused on battery systems and chassis elements. Its Chinese equivalent for battery systems is the Foshan site:

"The battery system for the MEB is manufactured at the Braunschweig site. A further skill has been added to the construction and assembly of chassis components: the development of high-voltage battery systems and software for the respective control units has been pooled here for the whole Group."

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Finally, the Salzgitter plant, which besides the production of some central parts like the electric motor's rotor and stator, is expanding to handle battery cell production (“Northvolt Zwei” with Northvolt) and battery recycling.

"...Volkswagen Group Components pools expertise and competence for battery technology from across the Group in the Center of Excellence for Battery Cells (CoE) at the site. The pilot production line and analysis laboratories are drivers of the further development of battery cell and manufacturing technology.

In collaboration with the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt AB, the first battery cell plant for the Northvolt Zwei joint venture will be built right next door, to be completed by 2024.

A pilot plant for recycling used high-voltage batteries will also start operations in Salzgitter in the next few weeks, recovering metal and valuable raw materials from batteries that cannot be recycled or re-used. The aim is to re-use more than 90% of the batteries in the future."