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Volkswagen's ID. Models To Get Bidirectional Charging in OTA Update

Volkswagen announced earlier this month improvements to the charging experience for those daring enough to choose an ID. electric model. Among the new features that will delight ID. owners on both sides of the Atlantic is a bidirectional charging option.
Volkswagen's ID. models will get bidirectional charging 6 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
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The natural disasters of the past years showed how important it is to have an electricity backup in case the grid fails. Electric vehicles (and even some ICEs) already feature a mains plug to power household devices, and sometimes this can be used to power the entire house in emergencies. The more capable cars of today offer an integrated experience with a special wallbox integrated into the house energy system.

Among those vehicles, you can now count the electric cars produced by Volkswagen under the ID. brand. An upcoming OTA software update will take care of that, but it will only work on the models fitted with the 77 kWh battery. Although the function will be unlocked without user intervention, it needs a special bidirectional DC wallbox that Volkswagen intends to offer as an extra.

The new update will allow Volkswagen electric cars to function as giants Li-Ion batteries for the house. They will not only provide electricity backup in case of a power outage but also work to stabilize the grid.

The future update will also increase the fast charging capabilities for the ID. cars equipped with a 77 kWh battery. As such, the standard models will see a small jump in power from 125 kW to 135 kW but the racier ID.5 GTX will get 150 kWh DC charging. This should cut the charging times by up to 9 minutes when charging from 5% to 80%. The update will also introduce a Battery Care Mode that caps the battery charge to 80% to extend the battery life.

This change must have been prompted by the market demand. We’re sure it also had to do with the fact that rival Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its sibling Kia EV6 offer 350 kWh DC fast charging, as well as a vehicle to load capability that is bidirectional charging by another name.

The new features will first be delivered to European customers, but soon will also be available for the customers in the U.S.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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