Volkswagen and Elli plan a home vehicle-to-grid package for Germany

Volkswagen and Elli plan a home vehicle-to-grid package for Germany

16 April 2026: Volkswagen and Elli, the energy and mobility brand of the Volkswagen Group, will sell private customers in Germany one package that lets an electric car feed power back into the grid, starting in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company quotes best-case savings and earnings of 700 to 900 euros a year, and describes that as a market estimate.

One package from a single supplier

The offer combines the electric vehicle, an app, a dynamic electricity tariff, a smart meter, a DC bidirectional charger and the installation. Volkswagen says pre-registration opens in June 2026 and that further European countries will follow Germany. The release is datelined Wolfsburg and credited to Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH, the company behind Elli.

Vehicle-to-grid, as Volkswagen defines it, treats the car battery as grid storage: it charges, holds electricity and feeds it back when the grid needs it. The company calls it the next step of the home charging and energy range it already sells rather than a separate product.

Martin Sander, board member for sales, marketing and after-sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, put the case in money terms: "Electric mobility can only realize its full potential if it also makes economic sense for our customers."

What customers are paid

In the first phase, customers are compensated for making battery capacity available for energy trading. Volkswagen says the payment does not depend on how well the trading performs, is transparent, and varies with the flexibility a customer allows in their charging behaviour. Over time the stated aim is charging that is close to cost-neutral.

The 700 to 900 euros a year is the upper end of what market estimates suggest. The release does not say what an average household would receive when the package launches.

Around one million cars are already prepared

The technical base is the modular electric drive platform, MEB. Volkswagen says about one million vehicles in Europe are already prepared for bidirectional charging, and Sander says the entire ID. family has been bidirectional-ready since 2023. The upcoming ID. Software 6 is meant to extend the function to further battery sizes, including future volume models.

On battery wear, the company says its high-voltage batteries and protection systems mean bidirectional charging does not significantly affect battery lifespan. The release gives no test figures behind that statement.

Elli sells the tariff and trades the power

Elli sits between the car, the customer and the energy market. It supplies the tariff, the charging control and the app, pools the batteries, and trades electricity on the EPEX Spot exchange through its own team, which the release says works around the clock. Volkswagen contrasts this with what it calls fragmented approaches from competitors and says it wants to keep the customer relationship and most of the value inside its own ecosystem.

Giovanni Palazzo, chief executive of Elli and senior vice president for charging and energy at Volkswagen Group Components, said: "Vehicle-to-Grid delivers its full value only through the connection of vehicles, infrastructure and the energy market." He described the end goal as a "Managed Battery Network".

The smart meter sets the pace

A smart meter is a precondition. Elli refers customers through its website to a nationwide metering point operator, which installs the meter and supplies the high-resolution consumption data. Volkswagen says meter installation is available immediately, that customers should expect the meter within eight to ten weeks, and that the V2G tariff can be used once the meter is configured.

The case Volkswagen makes for the grid

The release cites studies indicating that up to 22 billion euros in system costs could be saved each year in Europe by 2040. It adds that Germany recently curtailed about 9,500 GWh of renewable energy, which it says is enough to power around three million electric vehicles for a year. Both are Volkswagen's cited figures; the press release does not name the studies.

Company profile on TrustList: Elli (Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH)

Related on TrustList:

• Geely takes 30% of NIO Power and NIO 10% of Haohan Energy
• Rivian moves every R1 to RivianOS 2 with software update 2026.31

Sources

• Volkswagen Group: Electric vehicle batteries as grid storage, Volkswagen and Elli to launch Vehicle-to-Grid offer, 16 April 2026