Photo: Volkswagen
Few would have imagined ten years ago what the rise of the electric vehicle will mean for car manufacturers. Even fewer how in a very short time the name of this or that carmaker will be present in industries that until some point had nothing to do with car manufacturing.
We’ve already seen carmakers move beyond the scope of their core business with the creation of financial division decades ago. More recently, services like car sharing and taxis surfaced. Now, the new promised land is energy generation and storage.
Volkswagen, one of the biggest players in this nascent EV world, announced on Tuesday that it is officially entering the electric power industry, as it will be producing, storing and selling electricity to private users.
The company VW will use for this task will be called Elli Group and has been established as a means to offer energy and charging solutions for cars and homes.
To accomplish this, Volkswagen says Elli will “gradually be building up a portfolio of intelligent power tariffs, Wallboxes and charging stations as well as an IT-based energy management system.”
More to the point, there will be several areas Elli will be targeting. The first is providing energy from green sources for private households which may or may not own an electric vehicle. Electricity for this program will come from renewable energy provider Naturstrom.
Secondly, Elli will sell Wallboxes for charging electric cars to private households and thirdly it will provide the needed energy management system for them. Last, but not least, Elli targets photovoltaic systems and public charging stations.
All this, in essence, means that Volkswagen will be supplying electricity to all interested, and a bit more to those who actually own an electric car.
Using the photovoltaic systems, customers will be able to generate their own electricity. Using the management system they can store it in the electric car’s battery to be used either for personal needs or fed back into the grid in exchange for money.
“The new company will play its part with energy offerings from renewable sources and smart charging solutions,” said in a statement Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen’s executive in charge of electric mobility.
“This way, we are entering a strategically relevant, extremely exciting business area that offers considerable opportunities for strengthening ties with existing customers as well as accessing entirely new customer groups.”
Volkswagen did not say when the first Elli products and services will be ready.
Volkswagen, one of the biggest players in this nascent EV world, announced on Tuesday that it is officially entering the electric power industry, as it will be producing, storing and selling electricity to private users.
The company VW will use for this task will be called Elli Group and has been established as a means to offer energy and charging solutions for cars and homes.
To accomplish this, Volkswagen says Elli will “gradually be building up a portfolio of intelligent power tariffs, Wallboxes and charging stations as well as an IT-based energy management system.”
More to the point, there will be several areas Elli will be targeting. The first is providing energy from green sources for private households which may or may not own an electric vehicle. Electricity for this program will come from renewable energy provider Naturstrom.
Secondly, Elli will sell Wallboxes for charging electric cars to private households and thirdly it will provide the needed energy management system for them. Last, but not least, Elli targets photovoltaic systems and public charging stations.
All this, in essence, means that Volkswagen will be supplying electricity to all interested, and a bit more to those who actually own an electric car.
Using the photovoltaic systems, customers will be able to generate their own electricity. Using the management system they can store it in the electric car’s battery to be used either for personal needs or fed back into the grid in exchange for money.
“The new company will play its part with energy offerings from renewable sources and smart charging solutions,” said in a statement Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen’s executive in charge of electric mobility.
“This way, we are entering a strategically relevant, extremely exciting business area that offers considerable opportunities for strengthening ties with existing customers as well as accessing entirely new customer groups.”
Volkswagen did not say when the first Elli products and services will be ready.
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