The next generation of Volkswagen electric vehicles will arrive in 2028

Based on the SSP platform, they will also change design. The first model will be an SUV, but there will also be a new Golf.

La prochaine génération de véhicules électriques Volkswagen arrivera en 2028

By: Francesco Barontini

Published by: Brian Potter

Jun 8, 2024 at 3:49am ET

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Volkswagen has made its decision. Electric cars based on the new SSP platform will finally arrive in 2028. A few years behind the schedule announced a few years ago, but in line with the original plans.

That's according to the brand's CEO, Thomas Schaefer, who explained at an event organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Golf that the group's next generation of battery-powered cars would be ready within four years, and not, as announced in 2021, by 2026.

There were several reasons why management took this decision. On the one hand, the difficulties in developing what will be a software-oriented platform, and on the other, the current situation, which is seeing a slowdown in the growth of electric cars worldwide and which is pushing many manufacturers to put the brakes on the race towards the ecological transition.

An SUV as the first model

Returning to Volkswagen, the SSP will be a platform that replaces both the current MEB and EPP, continuing the theme of zero emissions, but also a pair of platforms capable of adopting internal combustion engines.

Volkswagen ID.2all, the MEB Entry platform

The MEB platform in a version dedicated to the compact cars of the future

Thomas Schaefer also confirmed that the first electric model of the next generation will be a mid-size SUV rather than an extremely sleek saloon. This vehicle will be built at the German plant in Zwickau and will be followed by a whole family of new models, including the next generation Golf, which will also be electric and built on the SSP at the Wolfsburg plant, also in Germany.

A new design with the Trinity project

The first car based on the SSP will be the result of what has long been known as the Trinity project. The switch from saloon to SUV is a consequence of the fact that, with the arrival of Oliver Blume at the head of the group, a decisive change of direction was desired in Wolfsburg, including in terms of styling.

Volkswagen ID.3, the front of the restyled version

Volkswagen ID.3 restyled

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The current electric cars in the ID family, led by the ID.3 and ID.4, are selling less well than expected, and the company believes that it is necessary to work on models that are better adapted to market demands. A new style for the electric cars of the future is also being defined. A style that, according to management, is "more distinctive and recognisable".

It's hard to say what this means just yet, although the ID.2all, the concept that anticipates Volkswagen's next low-cost electric car, has received positive reactions everywhere, precisely because of its slightly retro look that brings it closer to certain icons of the past such as the Golf and Polo.