Volkswagen's new modular EV platform supports combustion engines, but there's a catch
Volkswagen's SSP will play a crucial role in the automobile group's future product strategy. (AFP) Notify me
Remember Volkswagen's Scalable Systems Platform, or SSP, which is a modular electric vehicle architecture? It's been more than four years since the German automaker announced the SSP, the all-encompassing electric vehicle of the OEM. Volkswagen's Scalable Systems Platform was originally expected to be ready by now, but it has been delayed until later this decade. This setback has been attributed to Volkswagen's software division Cariad. However, the auto major is revealing new details of the SSP.
While the SSP is primarily an electric vehicle platform, it is also supposed to support internal combustion engines (ICE). But, there is a catch. Volksagen AG plans to introduce ICE to the SSP as a range extender not as a power mill to drive the vehicles. This means the ICE will generate power not to drive the wheels of the EVs underpinned by the SSP, but will function as generators to charge the battery pack onboard. In a nutshell, the ICE will not be mechanically linked to the wheels. Interestingly, Nissan's e-Power technology too follows a similar working principle, where the petrol engine powers the battery pack, not the drivetrain. Volkswagen plans to make SSP a foundation for models across all its brands.
Volkswagen had already indicated its interest in range extender technology. The newly launched Scout brand of the company is gearing up to launch a pickup truck and an SUV, which all will come with naturally aspirated ICE generators. SSP to play key role in VW's future product strategy
The SSP is a major initiative for Volkswagen as the automaker plans to make this architecture a foundation for models across all its brands. This will eventually replace all the existing EV platforms of the Volkswagen AG.
The carmaker is planning to launch at least five different models across different body styles based on the SSP. These vehicles will range from a city hatchback to a large SUV.
According to Automotive News report, there will be eight derivatives in total, covering every segment of the market. Next-generation electric cars from the Volkswagen AG based on SSP are expected to start rolling out in 2026.
Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India, Upcoming EV Bikes in India.
First Published Date: 08 Jun 2025, 12:16 PM IST
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
31 minutes ago
- First Post
Pakistan: Former PM Imran Khan likely to get bail in Al-Qadir Trust case on June 11, says top PTI leader
Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan is likely to get bail on June 11 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, a top party leader has said here. read more Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to secure bail on June 11 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, according to a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, even as the party gears up for a fresh political battle under his leadership from behind bars. The Islamabad High Court is scheduled to hear pleas seeking suspension of convictions handed to Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the high-profile case involving the alleged misappropriation of £190 million recovered by UK authorities from a Pakistani property tycoon. The case has become a central point in the ongoing legal troubles facing the PTI founder, who has been incarcerated at Adiala Jail since August 2023. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Speaking to ARY News, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan expressed confidence that Khan and his wife would receive relief when the court convenes next week. The hearing had previously been deferred at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which sought more time to finalise its arguments. The Al-Qadir Trust case centres on allegations that the Khan government unlawfully facilitated the transfer of £190 million, originally frozen by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA)—to a real estate developer's liabilities in Pakistan. In return, a charitable trust set up by Khan and Bushra Bibi allegedly received a land donation from Bahria Town, the tycoon's firm. Both Khan and his wife are named as the sole trustees. Gohar told ARY News on Saturday that the PTI will collaborate with opposition parties to launch a movement, which will be led by the party's patron-in-chief from jail. He urged the opposition parties to join PTI for the sake of the country's survival and security and revealed that a strategy for the upcoming budget has been finalised. 'The party will address a press conference on June 9 regarding it,' he said. Earlier last month, Khan had said he would lead his party's upcoming protest movement against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government at the Centre, from the prison. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and a prominent leader of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: party, Ali Amin Gandapur, earlier this week threatened to launch a full-scale movement for the cricketer-turned-politician's release after Eid Al-Adha. Khan, who faces multiple cases and has been convicted in a few of them, has repeatedly claimed the February 8 general elections of last year to have witnessed the 'Mother of All Rigging.' He has called his rivals the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as 'mandate thieves.' Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, while speaking with the media at his hometown of Faisalabad in Punjab on Saturday, urged the PTI to accept Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's offer of a meeting for negotiations and sit with the government to make amendments to the election laws. Gohar claimed Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, was being held in jail without any charges to pressure the PTI founder and claimed no deals will be made for the founder's release. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He also dismissed rumors of internal rifts within PTI. Some years ago, the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom agreed to a settlement worth 190 million pounds with the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz. According to an earlier report in Dawn, the NCA, in August 2019, declared that it was granted freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing 100 million pounds, 'suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption in an overseas nation.' The NCA said it had informed the then-government, run by Khan's PTI. It is alleged that Khan asked Shehzad Akbar, his aide on accountability, to resolve the matter, who in turn, 'settled' the case with the frozen funds belonging to the national treasury being adjusted against Bahria Town's liability, the Dawn said. Bahria Town Ltd, Malik's real estate firm, was found to have illegally acquired thousands of acres of land on Karachi's outskirts in the district of Malir. It had donated hundreds of acres of land to the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-profit that has only two trustees – Khan and Bushra Bibi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
CCPA's recent advisory on dark patterns sent to over 50 online platforms
India's consumer protection watchdog recently issued an advisory to over 50 online platforms, asking them to eliminate dark patterns and conduct self-audits within three months. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) sent the directive not just to e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Flipkart but also to travel aggregators, food-tech platforms, ride-hailing firms, medi-tech start-ups, streaming services, and fintech companies. Business Standard reviewed a copy of the 5 June email, which noted ongoing instances of dark pattern use despite existing guidelines. In some cases, the CCPA said it had issued notices. The advisory cited Rule 4(9) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which mandates that consumer consent for purchases must be explicitly obtained — not automatically recorded through pre-ticked checkboxes or similar mechanisms. Companies are still evaluating the advisory. Flipkart, in a statement, said the company welcomes the CCPA's emphasis on fostering online consumer confidence. 'We are currently assessing the self-audit requirements to ensure comprehensive and timely compliance, and we see this advisory as a reaffirmation of the values already central to our Flipkart Marketplace Platform.' The statement further added: 'Flipkart has been committed towards the dark pattern guidelines and has taken several measures to increase its awareness. Our active collaboration with the government and other stakeholders has been key to jointly shaping a responsible e-commerce ecosystem.' Another platform acknowledged the advisory but noted that the dark pattern guidelines are not legally binding. It argued that such practices are not an industry-wide issue and that companies routinely experiment with design elements to boost engagement and sales. Business Standard wrote to platforms including Amazon, Meesho, Apple, Uber, BookMyShow, Paytm, Namma Yatri, Meta, Nykaa, Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket, Tata 1mg, and Snapdeal. However, these queries did not elicit a response till the time of going to press. Dark patterns refer to deceptive or manipulative design elements in websites or mobile applications that trick users into taking actions they might not have intended, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a service. In 2023, the government issued guidelines identifying 13 specific types of dark patterns. These include tactics such as creating false urgency, adding items to a cart without consent (basket sneaking), guilt-tripping users (confirm shaming), forcing actions, trapping users in subscriptions (subscription traps), manipulating interfaces (interface interference), bait-and-switch tactics, hiding full costs (drip pricing), disguising advertisements, persistent prompts (nagging), misleading wording, unclear SaaS billing practices, and deceptive malware behaviours (rogue malware).
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
German firms eye India for future tech collaborations in manufacturing sector
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): As India is on the brink of becoming the fourth-largest economy in the current fiscal, an increasing number of German companies have ramped up their hunt for Indian partners with the intention of providing future technologies in the manufacturing sector. The German companies are looking for local partners to help Indian businesses in advancing production in areas such as green energy, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical sectors, among others. 'India is an important market; it's a growing market and has a huge amount of talent, and we are looking for talent because we are developing new technologies. We are the experts in the production field, and we are developing from the first sketch until the start of production. What we are doing here is we have invited our potential customers to this place (India),' said Rainer Wittich, CEO of EDAG Production Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. 'Many customers are going more and more into this activity. They want to build up the production areas more in the field of new technologies like green energy, electrolysers, semiconductors, and medicine pharma, and there we can help with our expertise,' Wittich added. The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, in association with the Indian arm of Germany-based EDAG Group, organised an event to explore business partnerships with emerging local companies and talent to facilitate manufacturing. Talking to ANI during the event in New Delhi, Stefan Halusa, Director General at Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, said, 'So we're talking about smart factories, we're talking about smart people, we're talking about smart product development, and all of that contributes to the smart industry and for that we are getting very good responses because it gives a glimpse of what the industry could be like in a couple of years.' Answering the question of increased interest of German companies in India, Halusa said three factors are attracting German companies towards India, and they are local markets and economic growth, scale and capabilities of the economy. 'The first (factor) is the local market. The Indian economy is growing and it will continue to grow over the next couple of years. So if you look at growth around the world, India is one of the first and most important countries to look at. The second is scale. You look at India for export as well, to invest here also for exporting your goods and services, and the third one is the capabilities,' he added. Halusa further added that India has become a hub for research and development (R&D), which is another major factor towards the greater interest of German companies. 'A lot of global capability centres are here, so it becomes a hub for research and development and engineering, and this combination is unique, and this is why German companies are looking for growth around the world. This is why they come to India,' Halusa added. Going further, Halusa asserted that the German companies are waiting for the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be concluded, as Germany currently does not have an FTA with India. 'Our companies, of course, tell us that they're waiting for the FTA to be concluded because that could really be a game changer for German and European companies. Because India has already concluded trade agreements with a whole number of countries but not with Europe. So there is a risk for us to fall behind, and this is why it's so important for the German and European industry that actually now comes to a conclusion,' he added. The trade between two countries has reached USD 26.10 billion, with Indian exports at USD 9.83 billion in 2023-24. Indian imports from Germany reached USD 16.27 in FY24. Germany is currently the 10th largest trading partner in exports for India in April-October 2024. On the government front, leaders of both partner countries have underscored the crucial importance of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications between the European Union and India. (ANI)
