Volkswagen launches bidirectional charging in Switzerland

The idea behind the charging technology is to allow drivers to use their electric vehicles as a form of giant mobile battery. Particularly in areas where the power supply is decentralized or hooked up to a photovoltaic setup without a sufficiently large energy storage, having an electric vehicle available to provide power when the sun isn’t shining, can be a boon.

For the launch of the project, Volkswagen is enabling its electric vehicles from the I.D. vehicle series, including the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, ID.7 und ID Buzz with batteries at least 77 kWh for bidirectional charging via a software update. This is now coupled with sun2wheel’s new 22 kW wall box charging station that will be presented in Zurich at the Auto Zurich on the 7th of November.

The charging station will not be available for some time, however, as deliveries are expected to begin around June 2025. It can already be ordered with a starting price of around 13,000 Swiss Francs, or about 13,818 euros. The Touring Club Schweiz has also announced plans to discount the first 20 of its members purchasing such a station with a 500 Franc rebate. Furthermore, the cantons of Zurich, Bern, Thurgau and Tessin also offer their own purchase subsidies for bidirectional charging infrastructure.

“The moment we have been waiting for is here: VW is the first major supplier of electric vehicles to allow bidirectional charging. We have the technology and the necessary expertise and are looking forward to rolling out our bidirectional charging solution for VW models in Switzerland on a broad basis,” emphasised Karin Schäfer, Head of Sales at Sun2Wheel. However, it should be pointed out that this is only true for Europe: Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi are also working on the technology. In the UK, Octopus Energy also announced a V2G tariff in early 2024.

Volkswagen started integrating bidirectional charging capacities into its vehicles in the summer of 2023, but has been working on the technology since 2021.

“‘We are proud to be making an important contribution to a sustainable energy future with bidirectional charging. The next, decisive phase of electromobility is now beginning. With our technology, we are the market leader in Switzerland and ready for important growth in the coming years,” added sun2wheel co-founder Marco Piffaretti.

technikblog.ch, moneycab.com, energate-messenger.ch (all in German)