May 9, 2019
Volkswagen has been constantly raising the bar for their vehicles for many years. At their Center of Excellence for Battery Cells, the brand's Chief Executive Officer, Frank Blome, has said that the company plans for their future MEB-based electric vehicles to have a guaranteed minimum capacity of 70 percent battery capacity for eight years or around 100,000 miles. This is tremendous news for car enthusiasts, as it means that the battery pack can be expected to last almost as long as the cars. Although cars may be used for longer than eight years, this number is projected to be the average amount of time that the car may be owned before it becomes too old or costly to maintain.
Developers at the world-famous brand have said that they are planning on building their vehicles around the battery, which means that there will be plenty of space to store the power. This mentality allows the brand to aim for ranges as high as 550 kilometers while still maintaining affordable prices for new electric car buyers. The battery modules were once arranged in different sections of the vehicle to maximize space, and after new blueprint planning, the batteries will now be compactly set between the vehicle's axles underneath the body. Through this central distribution point, drivers can look forward to more space throughout the rest of the vehicle.
The way these batteries will work will also make them more convenient to charge over the long-term. The company has said that they aim to make it easy for drivers to affect the length of the battery's service life. Charging the batteries normally will be better for them than charging them rapidly, and charging to roughly 80 percent instead of 100 percent can help increase their service life. Though drivers can still charge their vehicles as they like, this helps reduce the strain on the battery by preventing overcharging. As these batteries develop, drivers may look forward to further details on improving their overall mileage.
These batteries set themselves apart because they are flat. Representatives describe them as being shaped like bars of chocolate, with each battery system containing variable numbers of battery modules. These, in turn, are made up of individual cells. More modules are added according to the range of the car, but the primary structure remains the same. This is designed to optimize production and improve cost efficiency.
Energy efficiency in electric car batteries has made massive strides over the last several years. Studies found that the energy density within lithium-ion batteries has more than doubled since 2014. This has led to massive range increases as well, and many drivers are looking forward to the future of such vehicles.