VW’s four-platform future uncovered

The Volkswagen Group is planning to overtake Toyota, the world’s biggest car maker, as part of a 10-year plan that will see the majority of new Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat models – possibly even some Porsches, Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Bugattis – adopt one of four mechanical platforms.

The four new model architectures are for compact rear-engined city cars (MHB), small to midsized transverse-engined family cars (MQB), mid-engined sports cars, and larger longitudinal-engined cars (MLB).

According to a report in Automotive News yesterday, those four architectures could allow the VW Group to almost double its volume by 2018, to reduce model development times by up to a year, and to reduce costs by between 25- and 40 per cent. Here’s what’s known about each of them right now.

’MHB’ to underpin smallest models

Volkswagen’s smallest new platform will form the basis of its forthcoming family of rear-engined Up! city cars but, as Autocar has learned, it will also serve underneath a new Seat city car known as the Ros, after the firm's Arosa city car.

There is considerable scope for it also to be used to engineer a bargain basement Skoda model, given the Czech brand’s reputation for value for money. Industry experts will be keeping an eye out for a concept car at one of Europe’s motor shows next year.

As the cheapest of VW’s four platforms, it’s also likely to play an important role in the groups’ expansion into developing markets.

From Fabia to Bolero, via Audi’s new A1: ‘MQB’

VW’s next platform up will become its most ubiquitous ever. It’s codenamed ‘MQB’ and will allow VW to engineer a variety of different front, transverse-engined, front-wheel drive cars using the same starting point.

The models themselves will span several segments, varying in size from the next VW Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia at the smaller end, up to the next VW Passat and Seat Bolero. They will differ in concept as widely as the sixth generation VW Golf and the next Audi TT, and the inherent flexibility within the platform will allow manufacturers to vary wheelbase, track width, overall height and seating position. 

All ‘MQB’ products, however, will share components, manufacturing processes, and primarily the positioning of the engine, front axle and pedal box will be the same in all. The first to appear is likely to be the Audi A1, in 2010.

VW’s mid-engined sports car platform

Next in the scale is a new platform for mid-engined sports cars which the VW Group is currently developing. The internal codename for this project has been kept a secret, but Autocar understands that the project is borne out of the desire to be able to make cars as distantly separated as the Porsche Boxster and Lamborghini Gallardo more easily and more profitably.