Will This New EV Motor Power the VW ID.7 Sedan?

• Volkswagen Group Components reveals details of new APP550 electric motor headed into the next batch of ID electric models, promising greater performance and efficiency.

• The APP550 will produce 282 hp and a maximum torque of approximately 406 lb-ft, and is intended for rear-wheel-drive ID models.

• VW will unveil the ID.7 sedan in the coming days—intended to compete with the Tesla Model 3—that will likely receive this new motor, with production scheduled to start in the second half of 2023.

The next Volkswagen EVs are right around the corner, with Wolfsburg preparing to take the wraps off the ID.7 sedan in a matter of days. But it won't be just a sedan version of the ID.4, using the same MEB platform. Volkswagen is adding plenty of new tech to the model that will take on the Tesla Model 3 in Europe, China, and North America, including what will likely be this new electric motor.

By now we've caught a few glimpses of future ID electric models, but until now we haven't seen many details about the next generation of EV motors for the ID lineup.

Wolfsburg obliged this week, revealing details of the APP550 rear-wheel-drive unit that promises significantly higher torque and increased efficiency.

For starters, Volkswagen engineers improved the design of the stator with a larger wire cross-section and a higher effective number of windings. Next, the development team improved the rotor, which now features a more powerful permanent magnet with a higher load capacity. The electric drive specialists also developed an inverter that could provide the high phase currents required for greater efficiency and power.

"Because the available space has not changed, we were compelled to develop a new drive that achieves significant improvements in performance and efficiency in spite of being subject to the same constraints," said Karsten Bennewitz, Head of Powertrain and Energy Systems in Development. "That was a great challenge for the team of Technical Development and Group Components."

Volkswagen engineers also improved the thermal management system. The new drive now features a cooling system that works without an electrically driven oil pump, instead using the gear wheels of the gearbox itself to cool the oil via the vehicle's coolant circuit, while the outside of the stator uses a water heat sink.

The results are 282 hp along with a maximum torque of around 406 lb-ft, with VW being able to improve both performance and efficiency. By comparison, the rear-wheel-drive ID.4 produces 201 hp and 228 lb-ft of torque.

"Drawing on our many years of experience, we optimized the overall system through, among other things, the use of special electrical sheets and customized machining processes, and were thus able to significantly increase efficiency," said Alexander Krick, Head of Technical Development E-Drive, Power Electronics & Transmission at Group Components.

VW plans to produce the drive unit in Kassel, Germany.

Production of the ID.7, which will likely receive it, will take place in a new MEB assembly site in Emden, Germany. VW stopped short of openly confirming this motor for the ID.7, though it has hinted that the upcoming ID.7 will be more efficient than existing models in the MEB lineup. The timing of the reveal of APP550 details certainly points to its debut in the ID.7.

It remains to be seen whether VW will also offer this motor as an option in the ID.4, which is now produced in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as sites in Germany and China. But we should see this motor in at least a couple of electric models headed stateside.

Should competitors to the Tesla Model 3 focus on performance or longer battery range, lower starting price, or all of the above, to successfully challenge Tesla? Let us know what you think.