VW Group confirms new Bentley, Porsche & Audi electric SUVs

Volkswagen Group’s ambitious sales target of 19 million EVs this decade means tens of new all-electric SUVs from its stable coming into the market. These new launches would include “three fully electric D-SUV models”, the company said in an announcement on November 16.

The three all-electric D-SUVs Volkswagen Group plans to roll out of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Hannover plant in Germany would be bigger than typical Euro-focused SUVs. TopElectricSUV.com understands that they would be based on the same platform and are Audi, Bentley and Porsche models. They could be executive SUVs like the next-gen Audi Q7’s all-electric alternative, the next-gen Bentley Bentayga and the next-gen Porsche Cayenne respectively. The Porsche-Audi co-developed PPE platform that will debut in the Porsche Macan electric would underpin the troika of premium electric cars.

Dr Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, explained why the company chose the Hannover plant to manufacture the three fully electric D-SUV models during the 5-Year Planning Round conference call on the announcement day. The Hannover plant is already being revamped to start manufacturing the VW ID. Buzz concept-based electric VW Microbus or VW e-Bulli in 2022, and it is one of the few sites which have the competency to roll out large models.

Hannover is already preparing for electric cars with the electric BEVs. The basic investment into new body facilities is made. And we are talking about relatively low-volume cars. Now, top-of-the-range cars from Audi, Bentley and Porsche sharing platform so for us key rationale was really to keep those cars together in one manufacturing site because our experience is if you would start producing in different sites, you lose out the synergies, most of the synergies in investment and in R&D. So this was a key target to keep those together.

Dr Herbert Diess, CEO, Volkswagen Group

Further, Dr Diess said that the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Hannover Plant also has an experience in being a part of the production process of large models in the past. He was talking about the first-gen Porsche Panamera that was launched in the market in 2009. The original Porsche Panamera’s bodies were produced and painted at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Hannover Plant and transported to Porsche’s Leipzig plant for final assembly.

We are talking big cars, so relatively big cars, because it’s top of the range cars size-wise and then we don’t have too many locations which are able (to manufacture large models) and you know the determinating factor is always the paint job, size of the paint job can you get a certain bodystyle through. And there was basically only Hannover, (and it) was being prepared already for EV, geared up for EV, being able to produce those, having a certain experience also in complexity because they already used to produce a Porsche derivative in Hannover, at least in the body shop. So, they are well-prepared. We have the capacity there that made us decide on Hannover.

Dr Herbert Diess, CEO, Volkswagen Group

The new all-electric D-SUVs Volkswagen Group has confirmed would be one of the some 50 new EVs the company plans to launch to increase its EV line-up to approximately 70 models by 2030. Just earlier this month, Bentley had announced to launch the first Bentley EV in 2025 as part of a new ‘BEYOND100’ strategy. Whether this is the model to be produced in Hannover remains to be seen.