Volkswagen Group has achieved a major global milestone by producing five million electric drive units for its battery electric vehicles (BEVs), underscoring the company’s rapid scale-up of electrification across brands and regions.
The milestone reflects contributions from the Group’s production facilities in Győr, Kassel, Tianjin, and Zuffenhausen, highlighting the strength of its global development and manufacturing network. Volkswagen Group Components’ Kassel plant alone recorded around 24 percent year-on-year growth in electric drive production in 2025, reaching over 850,000 units.
The Group’s APP550 electric drive system, currently one of its most widely used drive units, has crossed one million units produced at the Kassel plant. The drive system is deployed across multiple models, including the Volkswagen ID. family, Škoda Enyaq, and CUPRA Tavascan, and is positioned as one of the most efficient electric drive systems in its class.
Despite retaining the same dimensions as its predecessor, the APP550 consumes around 20 percent less energy while delivering 75 percent more torque and 40 percent higher power, enhancing range, acceleration, and acoustic performance. In series production, the drive unit delivers up to 240 kW of power and 560 Nm of torque, supported by a combined oil and water cooling system for optimized thermal management.
Thomas Schmall, Member of the Board of Management for Technology at Volkswagen Group, said the milestone highlights the Group’s leadership in both internal combustion and electric powertrain technologies. He noted that developing the Group’s first pulse inverter in-house strengthens technological sovereignty, accelerates innovation, and ensures high performance and quality for customers.
Volkswagen Group Components is also developing its own pulse inverter technology, which will play a key role in future electric drive systems for the Electric Urban Car Family, enabling faster product development, cost efficiencies, and greater manufacturing independence. The inverter will be paired with the upcoming APP290 electric motor, which uses silicon carbide semiconductors to improve range and everyday performance across models such as the ID. Polo, Škoda Epiq, and CUPRA Raval.
The integrated development network across engineering, industrialization, power electronics, and logistics continues to position Volkswagen Group as a technology leader in electric powertrain production in the global volume segment.
