Volkswagen’s all-electric ID.3 will mark an important milestone in the manufacturer’s history as it is the beginning of the brand’s quest to have 50 fully-electric cars part of its portfolio by 2025. Built upon its innovative MEB platform, it has been announced that its drive control unit will be supplied by Vitesco Technologies.
The powertrain and electrification solution company developed the new server-based drive control unit for the Volkswagen Group’s new modular electric drive platform (MEB – German: Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten) architecture. In the Volkswagen ID.3, this device assumes a number of key functions in the electric propulsion system: it activates the electric motor, coordinates all commands initiated by the accelerator pedal, plays an integral part in charging and energy management as well as the management of the high-voltage electrical system. It also acts as an interface to the other control units inside the vehicle. The device also allows connectivity with the outside world to enable software updates, and functional enhancements at any time in the field. As a result, in addition to functional safety, great attention was also placed on cyber security during the development of the new component.
“This product makes us part of Volkswagen’s electrification ecosystem, which is proof of our strong system and electronics expertise across the entire vehicle propulsion system and beyond,” said Wolfgang Breuer, executive vice president of the electronic controls business unit at Vitesco Technologies.
The product not only contains software components developed by Vitesco Technologies, but also serves as the integration platform for software parts provided by Volkswagen, to seamlessly ensure the overall device function. Through closely interlinked and trustful collaboration between their respective engineering teams, both companies were able to bring the control unit to production within approximately two years.
The component will go into series production in further electric vehicles from the carmaker’s other Group brands using the MEB platform.
