Audi And Porsche’s PPE EV Platform Could Be Shared With Other Carmakers

Volkswagen Group has revealed that the PPE all-electric car platform being developed by Porsche and Audi could be made available to other car manufacturers.

Speaking with Bloomberg at a recent press briefing in Munich, Germany, head of development at Audi for the PPE platform project, Ulrich Widmann, confirmed the company is having conversations with other manufacturers.

“There’s definitely interest. We’re having conversations,” he said. “Sharing technology to generate scale effects is the only way to achieve the turnaround in electric cars, both economically and ecologically.”

Also Read: Audi Teases PPE Platform, Will Be One Of Four Architectures Used On Electric Vehicles

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean believes a handful of smaller car manufacturers could benefit from using the PPE platform as opposed to developing their own underpinnings.

“Given the huge research and development investment required for the transition to battery-electric vehicles, many smaller luxury names could be interested including Aston Martin, McLaren and Maserati,” he said. Of those, we suspect Aston Martin could be the most likely candidate as McLaren will likely want to retain its carbon fiber monocoques for future models and Maserati is expected to use EV platforms from within the FCA Group.

Audi says PPE is “generally similar” to the VW Group’s MEB architecture in that it will be available with a single rear electric motor with rear wheel drive and with two electric motors and all-wheel drive. However, PPE will incorporate an 800-volt electrical system and charging capacity of 350 kW. Systems such as air suspension, all-wheel steering, and torque vectoring are also expected. Audi says PPE will be used by a selection of electric wagons, crossovers, sportbacks, and SUVs moving forward.