The Volkswagen Group has marked a significant milestone in its electrification strategy by producing five million electric drive units for its battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across its global manufacturing network, underscoring the company’s rapid scale-up of electric mobility worldwide. This achievement highlights the strength and coordination of the Group’s development and production facilities in Europe and Asia.
Production of electric drives is spread across several key plants, including those in Győr, Kassel, Tianjin and Zuffenhausen, with the Kassel facility alone growing its output by approximately 24 % year-on-year in 2025, exceeding 850,000 units. Such growth reflects Volkswagen’s broader push to expand its electric powertrain output amid rising global demand for electrified vehicles.
Central to this milestone is the company’s APP550 electric drive system, which has now surpassed one million units produced at the Kassel plant. This drive unit — deployed across several Volkswagen Group models such as the Volkswagen ID. family, Škoda Enyaq and CUPRA Tavascan — is described as one of the most efficient electric drive systems in its class.
Despite sharing the same overall size as its predecessor, the APP550 offers notable performance gains: it consumes about 20 % less energy, delivers roughly 75 % more torque and around 40 % more power, enhancing key aspects like range, acceleration and driving dynamics. In series production, the system delivers up to 240 kW of power and up to 560 Nm of torque, supported by a combined oil and water cooling system that optimizes thermal management.
Volkswagen Group is also advancing its technology capabilities with the development of its own pulse inverter, a key electric drive component. Designed to accelerate product development, reduce costs and increase manufacturing independence, this inverter will support future electric drive systems — including the upcoming APP290 electric motor portfolio for its Electric Urban Car Family, which is expected to bring improved range and everyday performance.
The integrated global network handling engineering, industrialization, power electronics and logistics continues to reinforce Volkswagen’s position as a technology leader in electric powertrain production in the volume EV segment, as the company further expands its electrification efforts across brands and regions.
