The Volkswagen Group MLB platform is the company's

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

strategy, announced in 2012, for shared

modular Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a sy ...

construction of its

longitudinal Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Longitude ** Line of longitude, also called a meridian * Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, ...

, front-engined automobiles. It was developed by

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

and first introduced in 2007 on the

Audi A5 The Audi A5 is a series of compact executive coupe cars produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi since June 2007. The A5 range additionally comprises the coupe, cabriolet, and "Sportback" (a five-door liftback with a fastback roofline) v ...

then, chronologically, on the

Audi A4 The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...

Audi Q5 The Audi Q5 is a series of compact luxury crossover SUVs produced by the German luxury car manufacturer Audi from 2008. The original first-generation (''Typ 8R'') model was the third member of the ''B8'' family to be released after the Audi A ...

Audi A8 The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and now in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with both front- or permanent all-wheel drive—and in s ...

Audi A7 The Audi A7 is an executive luxury four-door coupé produced by Audi since 2010. A five-door liftback (also available as a three-box, four-door saloon in China since 2021), it features a sloping roofline with a steeply raked rear window and inte ...

Audi A6 The Audi A6 is an executive car made by the German automaker Audi. Now in its fifth generation, the successor to the Audi 100 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is available in saloon and estate configurations, the latter marketed by Aud ...

Porsche Macan The Porsche Macan (Type 95B) is a high-performance Compact luxury crossover SUV produced by the German car manufacturer Porsche from 2014. It is built in Leipzig, Germany. The Macan range includes many variants, including the Macan, Macan T, ...

and the second generation

Audi Q7 The Audi Q7 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in the autumn of 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in ...

(MLB Evo). Until 2015, only Audi and

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

were using the MLB platform. In February 2016

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

introduced the MLB based Phideon luxury sedan built and sold uniquely in the Chinese market.

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

markets the strategy under the code name MLB, which stands for ''Modularer Längsbaukasten'', translating from German to "Modular Longitudinal Matrix". MLB is one strategy within VW's overall MB (Modulare Baukasten or modular matrix) program which also includes the similar MQB strategy for its vehicles with transverse engine orientation. While a model may be said to use an MLB

, it is not so much a platform ''per se'', but rather a system for introducing rationality across disparate platforms that share engine orientation — regardless of model, vehicle size or brand. Thus, MLB uses a core "matrix" of components across a wide variety of platforms — for example, sharing a common engine-mounting core for ''all'' drivetrains (e.g., gasoline, diesel, natural gas, hybrid and purely electric). The only things that are non-variable are the pedal box, firewall, and front wheel placement, as well as the windscreen angle; other than this, the vehicle can be stretched and shaped to fit any body style, size range, or drivetrain required. As well as reducing weight, the concept allows diverse models, including those from the company's various brands, to be manufactured at the same plant, further saving cost. , former chief of Volkswagen’s Research and Development, called MB a "strategic weapon."

Jalopnik G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that runs ''Gizmodo'', ''Kotaku'', ''Jalopnik'', ''Deadspin'', ''Lifehacker'', ''Jezebel'', ''The Root'', ''The A.V. Club'', ''The Takeout'', ''The Onion'', and ''The Inventory''. History G ...

said "the biggest feature is the uniform position of all motors and transmissions" and that "by fitting all motors into the same place (the company) hope(s) to cut down on engineering costs and weight/complexity when porting the car over to other models." The British magazine, ''

Car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

'', said "the idea heralds a return to basic principles of mass production in an industry where over the last 100 years, complexity has spiralled out of control. By creating a standardised, interchangeable set of parts from which to build a variety of cars, (the company) plans to cut the time taken to build a car by 30%."

Modularer Längsbaukasten

(''Typ'' 8T/8F), 2007–2016 *

(''Typ'' 8R), 2008–2017 * Audi A4 (B8) (''Typ'' 8K), 2007–2016 * Audi A8 (D4) (''Typ'' 4H), 2010–2017 *

(''Typ'' 4G), 2010–2017 * Audi A6 (C7) (''Typ'' 4G), 2011–2018 *

(Type 95B), 2013–present *

Volkswagen Phideon The Volkswagen Phideon () is an executive sedan manufactured by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, described by Volkswagen as their "premium class" vehicle. Introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the Phideon is aimed at the marke ...

(''Typ'' 3E), 2016present File:Audi A5 Coupé quattro DTM Champion (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 30. August 2014, Düsseldorf.jpg, Audi A5 File:2014 Audi Q5 (8R MY14) 2.0 TDI quattro wagon (2015-07-24) 01.jpg, Audi Q5 File:Audi A4 B8 Facelift Limousine Ambiente 1.8 TFSI multitronic Eissilber.JPG, Audi A4 File:2015 Audi A8L quattro front 5.20.18.jpg, Audi A8 File:2012 Audi A7 -- 11-10-2011.jpg, Audi A7 File:Audi A6 Avant TDI quattro S-line (C7, Facelift) – Frontansicht, 3. April 2015, Düsseldorf.jpg, Audi A6 Avant File:2019 Porsche Macan S-A facelift 2.0 Front.jpg, Porsche Macan File:Volkswagen VW Phideon 2016.jpg, Volkswagen Phideon

Modularer Längsbaukasten Evo

(''Typ'' 4M), 2015present *

Bentley Bentayga The Bentley Bentayga is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Bentley Motors since late 2015. It is the first SUV to be produced by the brand. Its body is manufactured at the Volkswagen Zwickau-Mosel Plant in Germany, then painted by Pa ...

(''Typ'' 4V), 2015present *

(''Typ'' 8W), 2016present *

(''Typ'' 8W6), 2016present *

(''Typ'' 80A), 2017present *

(''Typ'' 4K8), 2017present *

(''Typ'' 4N), 2017present *

(''Typ'' 4K), 2018present *

Audi Q8 The Audi Q8 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV coupé made by Audi that was launched in 2018. It is the flagship of the Audi SUV line, and is being produced at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. Overview BMW launched its coupe SUV in 2008, the B ...

(''Typ'' 4MN), 2018present *

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...

(''Typ'' CR), 2018present *

Audi e-tron The Audi e-tron is a series of electric and hybrid cars shown by Audi from 2009 onwards. In 2012 Audi unveiled a plug-in hybrid version, the A3 Sportback e-tron, released to retail customers in Europe in August 2014, and slated for the U.S. i ...

(''Typ'' GE), 2018present *

Lamborghini Urus The Lamborghini Urus is a high performance luxury SUV manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. It was unveiled on 4 December 2017 and was put on the market for the 2018 model year. The name comes from the urus, the ancestor ...

, 2018present *

Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built b ...

(third generation) (Type 9YA), 2018present File:2020 Audi Q7 S Line TDi MHEV Quattro facelift 3.0.jpg, Audi Q7 File:Audi Q8 IMG 3134.jpg, Audi Q8 File:Bentley Bentayga IMG 2641.jpg, Bentley Bentayga File:2019 Lamborghini Urus V8 Automatic 4.0 Front.jpg, Lamborghini Urus File:2019 Porsche Cayenne V8 Turbo Tiptronic 4.0 Front.jpg, Porsche Cayenne

References

External links

Volkswagen Group corporate websiteAudi corporate websiteVolkswagen Phideon press release
{{DEFAULTSORT:MLB Volkswagen Group platforms Audi

Modularer Längsbaukasten

Modularer Längsbaukasten Evo

See also

References

External links