Volkswagen announces vehicle-to-grid offering in Germany, soon wider Europe

Volkswagen, together with its energy brand Elli, is preparing a fully integrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) offering for private customers in Germany. This includes an electric vehicle, an app, a dynamic electricity tariff, a smart meter, a bidirectional DC wallbox, and installation, as the Wolfsburg-based automaker announced today. Smart meter installation, not always common in Germany, is available immediately.

Customers can register for the offer starting in June. The launch of the V2G service is planned for the fourth quarter. Volkswagen added that the offer will be gradually rolled out to other European countries.

The comprehensive energy offering for electric vehicles represents the further development of the existing home charging and energy ecosystem. Customers will be able to actively manage their mobility costs and also use their electric cars as an additional source of income by making available battery capacity available to the grid and being prepared for flexible charging. The potential earnings or savings for customers are generally estimated in the market at a maximum of 700 to 900 euros, as Volkswagen further explains.

As a first step, customers will receive compensation for making their vehicle batteries available for energy trading. This compensation will not depend on trading success, but rather on the chosen charging flexibility. “The goal is to gradually reduce the total cost of mobility – ultimately moving toward nearly cost-neutral charging,” says Volkswagen.

The technological basis for the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) offering is the modular electric drive platform (MEB). Around one million vehicles across Europe are already technically equipped for bidirectional charging. Volkswagen announced that the “ID. Software 6” will make this functionality available for other battery sizes as well. The automaker says it is relying on robust high-voltage batteries and protection systems that ensure bidirectional charging does not significantly affect battery lifespan.

The group’s subsidiary Elli will act as an intermediary between electric vehicles, customers, and the energy market. Elli will also refer customers to one of the largest competitive metering point operators, which will handle the installation of smart meters and provide the high-resolution measurement data. The intelligent metering system is expected to be installed at end customers’ premises within eight to 10 weeks. They will then be able to use the vehicle-to-grid tariff.

Martin Sander, Board Member for Sales, Marketing and After Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said: “Electric mobility can only realize its full potential if it also makes economic sense for our customers. With Vehicle-to-Grid, we are delivering exactly that: significantly lower home charging costs – and, in the long term, nearly cost-free charging. As a pioneer in bidirectional charging, our entire ID. family has been ‘bidi-ready’ since 2023. In this way, we are bringing V2G from innovation into everyday life and making this technology accessible to the mass market. That is the ambition of the Volkswagen brand.”

From pv magazine Germany.