List of Volkswagen Group platforms

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The German automotive concern, Volkswagen Group has, since the 1970s, developed a series of shared automobile platforms for their motor vehicles. [1] [2]

Contents

Originally, these were identified using a simple alphanumeric system. The first letter prefix indicates the car classification or physical size (A, B, C or D - for 'traditional' cars); followed by a number to enumerate different generations of the same class. However, more recent platforms have formally departed from this convention, although the older alphanumeric codes continue to be used informally.

These platforms may be used by one or more marques of the Group.

Platform codes

Original system

Volkswagen Group alphanumeric platforms
platform nameused fornotable examplescomments
A00 city cars Volkswagen Lupo, SEAT Arosa This platform never developed any subsequent evolutions or generations.
A0 series supermini cars Audi 50, Volkswagen Polo, SEAT Ibiza, SEAT Córdoba, Škoda Fabia As of 2010, in its fifth generation.
A series [2] small family cars
/ compact cars 		Audi A3, Audi Q3, Audi TT, VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Eos, VW Tiguan, VW Touran, VW Scirocco, SEAT León, SEAT Toledo, SEAT Altea, Škoda Octavia The most prolific platform, currently[ when? ] in its eighth generation.
B series [2] mid-size cars Audi 4000, Audi 80, Audi 90, Audi A4, Volkswagen Passat, SEAT Exeo, Škoda Superb Another prolific platform, now informally in its ninth generation.
C series [2] extended mid-size executive cars Audi 5000, Audi 100/200, Audi A6, Audi A6 allroad quattro Eight generations to date.
D series full-size luxury cars Audi V8, Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT, Volkswagen Phaeton Six variants from five generations. Confusingly, the D series includes models using both conventional steel monocoque construction, or the very different aluminium Audi Space Frame construction.
T series vans Volkswagen Transporter rangethe early generations were retroactively named, the T1 is the oldest "platform", based on the original Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle.

Note that some designations in common use are ambiguous; i.e. in some cases the same platform designation is used for different models that do not share a common platform. An example would be the B6 designation - this is used to identify the 2001-2005 Audi A4 (and the related Audi S4), which uses a longitudinal engine and transmission placement with a pressed steel front subframe; however it is also used to identify the sixth-generation Volkswagen Passat, but this uses a transverse engine and transmission placement with a very different cast aluminium alloy front subframe.

Joint-venture platforms

Platforms developed by Volkswagen Group as joint ventures with other manufacturers have designations which do not conform to the above scheme. These include:

Volkswagen Group joint-venture platforms
platform nameused fornotable examplescomments
B-VX62 [2] multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) Volkswagen Sharan (7M), SEAT Alhambra (7M), Ford Galaxy Joint-venture with Ford Motor Company.
LT/T1N series light commercial vehicles Volkswagen LT range, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Second and third generations are a joint-venture with Daimler AG.

Current system

More recently,[ when? ] Volkswagen Group have introduced a new alphanumeric nomenclature for car platforms. The platform code is composed as follows:

An additional + suffix indicates a long-wheelbase variant.

Volkswagen Group PL/PQ platforms
platform codeused fornotable examples
PQ12 (NSF) ultra-compact city cars Volkswagen Up, SEAT Mii, Škoda Citigo
PL22/PQ22[ speculation? ] BX supermini cars Volkswagen Gol, Volkswagen Parati, Volkswagen Saveiro LB20
PQ23 [ speculation? ]supermini cars Volkswagen Polo (6N - Polo Classic), Volkswagen Caddy, SEAT Ibiza (6K), SEAT Córdoba (6K), SEAT Inca
PQ24 [2] supermini cars Volkswagen Polo (9N), Volkswagen Gol MK5 - Third Gen.(2008–present, PQ24/25 hybrid) [3] SEAT Ibiza (6L), SEAT Córdoba (6L), Škoda Fabia (6Y), Škoda Fabia (5J), Škoda Roomster
PQ25 [2] supermini cars Volkswagen Polo (6R), SEAT Ibiza (6J), Audi A1
PQ26 supermini cars Volkswagen Polo (6C), SEAT Ibiza (6P), Skoda Fabia (6V)
PQ31 [ speculation? ] small family cars
/ compact cars 		Volkswagen Citi, Volkswagen Caddy
PQ34 [2] small family cars
/ compact cars		 Audi A3 (8L), Volkswagen Golf Mk4 (1J), Volkswagen Bora/Jetta (1J), SEAT León (1M), SEAT Toledo (1M), Škoda Octavia (1U)
PQ35 [2] small family cars
/ compact cars		 Audi A3 (8P), Audi Q3 (8U), Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (1K), Volkswagen Jetta Mk5 (1K), Volkswagen Golf Mk6 (5K), Volkswagen Eos, Volkswagen Scirocco Mk3, Volkswagen Tiguan, SEAT León (1P), SEAT Toledo (1P), SEAT Altea, Škoda Octavia (1Z), Škoda Yeti
PL45 [2] mid-size cars Audi A4 (8D), Volkswagen Passat (3B), Volkswagen Passat GP Lingyu
PL45+ [2] mid-size cars Volkswagen Passat Lingyu, Škoda Superb (3U)
PQ46 [2] mid-size cars Volkswagen Passat (3C), Volkswagen Sharan (7M), Škoda Superb (3T)
PL46 [2] mid-size cars Audi A4 (8E B6)
PQ47 [2] mid-size cars Volkswagen Passat CC (7N B7)
PL47 [2] mid-size cars Audi A4 (8E B7), SEAT Exeo
MLB/MLP [2]
(PL48[ speculation? ])		mid-size cars and larger Audi A4 (B8), Audi A5, Audi Q5, Audi A8 (D4), Porsche Macan, Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus
PL62 [2] full-size luxury cars Audi A8, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Bentley Continental GT/GTC, Volkswagen Phaeton
PL64 [2] full-size luxury cars Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT, Volkswagen Phaeton
PL71 [2] sport utility vehicles (SUVs) Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg
PL72 [4] sport utility vehicles (SUVs) Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg (7P)

Modular component systems

In 2007, Volkswagen Group introduced a more flexible "modular component system" architecture on which to base future platforms. Four such component systems were planned: [5] However, models developed from these modular component systems may also be identified by PL/PQ platform designations.

Electric car platforms

Other

The Volkswagen Amarok pickup truck has no known platform code.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen</span> German automobile manufacturer

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into the global brand it is known as today post World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms Volk and Wagen, translating to "people's car" when combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Passat</span> Car model series

The Volkswagen Passat is a nameplate of large family cars (D-segment) manufactured and marketed by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, Corsar and Carat, with varying body styles such as saloon, estate, and hatchback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi 80</span> Motor vehicle

The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the Audi subdivision of the Volkswagen Group across four generations from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon, and station wagon — the latter marketed by Audi as the Avant. The coupé and convertible models were not badged as members of the range, but used a derivative of the same platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quattro (four-wheel-drive system)</span> Sub-brand by Audi that designed for its all-wheel-drive cars

Quattro is the trademark used by the automotive brand Audi to indicate that all-wheel drive (AWD) technologies or systems are used on specific models of its automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout</span> Automotive design

In automotive design, an RR, or rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the RMR layout, the center of mass of the engine is between the rear axle and the rear bumper. Although very common in transit buses and coaches due to the elimination of the drive shaft with low-floor buses, this layout has become increasingly rare in passenger cars.

The Volkswagen Group A platform is an automobile platform shared among compact and mid-size cars of the Volkswagen Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi 50</span> Motor vehicle

The Audi 50 is a small 'Supermini' car, produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978, and sold only in Europe. Introduced two and three years after the French Renault 5 and the Italian Fiat 127 respectively, the Audi 50 and its VW Polo twin were seen at the time as Germany's first home-grown entrant in Europe's emerging class of "supermini" hatchbacks, supplanting a generation of small and often rear-engined economy cars.

The Volkswagen Group B platform is a mid-size automobile platform from the Volkswagen Group. It has been used for saloon cars/sedans, estate cars/station wagon, and coupés - under the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT and Škoda marques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4motion</span> All-wheel-drivetrain developed by Volkswagen

4motion is a registered trademark of Volkswagen AG, used exclusively on Volkswagen-branded automobiles with four-wheel drive (4WD) systems. Volkswagen has previously used the term "Syncro" for its 4WD models, such as in Volkswagen T3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Leiding</span>

Dr. Ing. h.c. Rudolf Leiding was the third post-war chairman of the Volkswagen automobile company, succeeding Kurt Lotz in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Group MLB platform</span> Motor vehicle platform

The Volkswagen Group MLB platform is the company's platform strategy, announced in 2012, for shared modular construction of its longitudinal, front-engined automobiles.

The Volkswagen Group New Small Family platform (NSF) is a range of ultra-compact city cars manufactured by Volkswagen Group launched in late 2011, based on the Volkswagen up! concept cars shown at 2007's Frankfurt and Tokyo motor shows. Although the up! concept car had a rear-engine design, the NSF's platform is front-engined, according to reports, in order to reduce investment costs. The range will consist of a short wheelbase three-door hatchback and a five-door version. A hybrid version was touted to join the range but never did. The NSF Platform was offered with electric powertrains in the E-Up, Citigo and Mii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Group MQB platform</span> Motor vehicle platform

The Volkswagen Group MQB platform is the company's strategy for shared modular design construction of its transverse, front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout automobiles. It was first introduced in the Volkswagen Golf Mk7 in late 2012. Volkswagen spent roughly $8bn developing this new platform and the cars employing it. The platform underpins a wide range of cars from the supermini class to the mid size SUV class. MQB allows Volkswagen to assemble any of its cars based on this platform across all of its MQB ready factories. This allows the Volkswagen group flexibility to shift production as needed between its different factories. Beginning in 2012, Volkswagen Group marketed the strategy under the code name MQB, which stands for Modularer Querbaukasten, translating from German to "Modular Transversal Toolkit" or "Modular Transverse Matrix". MQB is one strategy within VW's overall MB program which also includes the similar MLB strategy for vehicles with longitudinal engine orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Slovakia</span>

The Volkswagen Bratislava Plant is an automotive factory and co-located test track owned by Volkswagen Group in Bratislava, Slovakia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Group MEB platform</span> Modular electric car platform

The Volkswagen Group MEB platform is a modular car platform for electric cars developed by the Volkswagen Group and its subsidiaries. It is used in models of Audi, Cupra, Škoda, and Volkswagen, along with Ford through partnership. The architecture is aimed to "consolidate electronic controls and reduce the number of microprocessors, advance the application of new driver-assistance technology and somewhat alter the way cars are built" by the VW Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platform chassis</span>

A platform chassis is a form of vehicle frame / automobile chassis, constructed as a flat plate or platform, sometimes integrating a backbone or frame-structure with a vehicle's floor-pan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Group MSB platform</span> Motor vehicle platform

The Volkswagen Group MSB platform is the company's strategy for shared modular design construction of its longitudinal, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout automobiles. It was developed by Porsche for vehicles with longitudinally mounted engines and gearboxes and four-wheel or rear-wheel drive. It has been in use since 2016 and was introduced with the second generation Porsche Panamera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Group Premium Platform Electric</span> Modular electric car platform

Premium Platform Electric (PPE) is a modular car platform for electric cars being developed by Volkswagen Group brands Audi and Porsche. The platform will be for larger electric vehicles which are not suitable for the Volkswagen Group MEB platform, although Audi will also build cars with the smaller platform. Details of the platform were first revealed in 2019, with Audi noting that it would have 2/3 assembling commonality with the MLB Evo platform. The first car officially announced for PPE was the Audi A6 e-tron.

The Volkswagen Group Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) is a modular car platform for electric cars being developed by the Volkswagen Group. SSP was announced in July 2021, as part of Volkswagen's "New Auto" strategy, to have a "single battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform across all the group's brands". SSP is planned to be introduced in 2026, and intend to succeed the MEB and PPE platforms. It is also expected to replace Volkswagen's internal combustion engine platforms. As with MEB it is expected that the platform will also be offered to other car manufacturers.

References

  1. ↑ "Europe's slight rise & anticipated decline - Auto by the Numbers - car sales, production in Western Europe - Illustration - Statistical Data Included". Automotive Design & Production, April 2002 by Mark Fulthorpe / Gardner Publications, Inc. / Gale Group. CBS Interactive Business UK. 2002. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Im Fokus: Volkswagen - Kernkompetenz: Sparen" (PDF). Automobil-Produktion.de (in German). CSM Worldwide. March 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Novo Gol - Mudanças para continuar na liderança Archived 2009-12-16 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
  4. ↑ "VW Touareg (7P) - Ross-Tech Wiki". wiki.ross-tech.com.
  5. ↑ "VW's (Volkswagen Group) four-platform future uncovered". Autocar . Haymarket Media Group. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  6. ↑ First Details On Porsche’s Modular Standard Platform (MSB) – MotorAuthority.com
  7. ↑ VW group's unique platform sharing architecture – F1Technical.net
  8. ↑ Der Baukasten für die Zukunft Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Volkswagen.de
  9. ↑ "Porsche / VW Group Platforms | Issue 272 | Excellence | The Magazine About Porsche". Excellence. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  10. ↑ "J1 performance platform". electrichasgoneaudi.net.
  11. ↑ Julian Rendell. Skoda electric vehicle under development Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine . Autocar . Published on March 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ "VW's EV platform ready for Skoda, Seat brands". 10 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "VW's Porsche And Audi Will Develop Joint EV Platform To Slash Costs". insideevs.com.
  14. ↑ "First EVs on Audi and Porsche's PPE platform coming in 2021". motorauthority.com.
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