Volkswagen just couldn’t wait to spill the beans on their upcoming all-electric platform. At a recent investors event, CEO Herbert Diess announced the automaker’s Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) will debut in 2026, a couple years early than expected. Turns out, the new platform is shaping up to be an EV powerhouse, capable of supporting compact city cars all the up to fire-breathing sports cars with – get this – 1,740 horsepower!
Though execs had flagged holdups pushing it back to 2028/2029, Blume says the electric platform’s back on its original schedule.“The SSP architecture will balance scale and standardization with differentiation and speed” Blume explained.
According to Diess, the SSP platform will offer outputs ranging anywhere from 160 horses to that insane 1.7K figure. It’ll also have level 4 autonomous driving and Volkswagen’s PowerCO batteries which can reportedly juice up from 10% to 80% in just 12 minutes. Using more standardized parts is supposed help VW cut manufacturing costs and bump up profit margins for SSP-based EVs closer to gas models.
Volkswagen’s doling out SSP platform duties to their brands based on the size and cost of their usual rides. VW’s taking point on bits for city cars and superminis for Cupra, Skoda and Audi. Audi and VW will handle compact and midsize components, which Porsche, Skoda and Audi will also use. Porsche’s leading development of large car components for themselves, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini.
According to Oliver Blume, VW’s COO, those large car components will spread across 14 models and rake in €150 billion in sales by 2038, with “highly attractive” 20%+ profit margins thanks to economies of scale. Word on the street is Porsche’s also cooking up a new 3-row SUV on the SSP platform for 2027 (2024 Porsche Macan EV Teased Alongside Electric Speedboat). Overall, VW’s banking on the SSP platform to majorly slash costs, projecting a 30% drop in spending versus their current MEB platform.
If VW can truly deliver the SSP’s radical range and affordability, other automakers best watch their backsides. The age of EVs for all may just be on the horizon!
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