Yahoo Autos VW ID. models to get faster charging and bidirectional charging
Having accelerated its push into electrification, the Volkswagen Group is already unlocking more technologies for its ID. range as well as investing in further green energy options and second-life battery infrastructure. Said Elke Temme, CEO of the Group-owned charging and energy business Elli, "Our goal is to ensure that an electric vehicle is capable of being a customer’s primary car – without any compromises. That is why we are building a complete charging eco-system, with residential charging solutions and a rapid expansion of the fast-charging infrastructure required for mobile charging, as well as competent advice, comprehensive charging tariffs and the right fleet solutions for business customers."
The automaker says all ID. models with the 77-kWh battery are going to be able to charge bidirectionally — accepting energy from a source, and charging a separate energy storage system like a wallbox plugged into a home energy system. That capability will come via an OTA update. VW will sell special bidirectional DC wallboxes for home use. Another software revision and OTA update will increase the charging capacity of the 77-kWh ID. battery from 125 kW to 135 Kw for standard models, and up to 150 kW for the racier ID.5 GTX. We're told the boost cuts charging times by up to nine minutes when charging from 5% to 80%. There will also be a new Battery Care Mode that caps battery charge at 80%; VW didn't say if this would be an owner-selected mode, or a fixed setting in the car.
Speaking of owner settings, UX designers have tweaked the charging menu layout to be "structured in a more informative and clearer way." Beyond that, the navigation's Online Route Calculation will do the math to figure out how to reach a destination in the shortest time when factoring for charging times and the desired level of charge at the destination. This could create a route that isn't the shortest distance, but that will ultimately cut the route time by including faster charging stations.
