Title: Platforms to enhance electric vehicles' competitiveness

Authors: Sergio Tadeu Gonçalves Muniz; Bruce M. Belzowski

Addresses: Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR), Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165 – CEP 80230-901, Curitiba, Brazil ' Automotive Futures, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), 2901 Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2150, USA

Abstract: The decision making between manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs), notably battery electric vehicles (BEVs), on the same internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) platforms or making them on a new, dedicated platform need to consider the scale and costs of production and the electric range of the vehicle. In this article, we will present and discuss two distinctly electric vehicles platforms strategies. On one hand, Ford's strategy with shared EVs in conventional ICEVs platforms to achieve scale and lower costs of these vehicles in a world-wide basis. On the other hand, the Volkswagen Group, which recently changed its strategy and started to develop a dedicated platform for their next generation of EVs. In order to differentiate between these two strategies, two concepts are introduced: the adapted electric platform (AEP), i.e., an EV platform based on an ICEV and the new electric platform (NEP), i.e., a platform specifically designed for EVs, primarily BEVs.

Keywords: automotive industry; product platform; electric vehicles; Ford Company; Volkswagen Group.

DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2017.084806

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2017 Vol.17 No.2, pp.151 - 168

Received: 04 Oct 2016
Accepted: 22 Dec 2016
Published online: 29 Jun 2017 *

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