Volkswagen (VW) Group is considering switching to a single lithium-ion battery cell design for all of its electrified vehicles.

The group is aiming for a 66% cost reduction with a design that would be packaged into customized modules, according to Heinz-Jakob Neußer, VW's board member in charge of development. However, no date was given for the change.

"We have a clear understanding in the group of a common cell," Neußer is quoted as saying by Plastics News Europe. "That means each member of the group, each brand, uses the same cell. Otherwise, we cannot get the synergies out of this development."

Volkswagen's E-bugster that is powered purely by electricity. Source: VolkswagenCurrently, VW uses several types of lithium-ion cells: Samsung and Panasonic batteries that power many of the auto-makers electric vehicles.

Using one design would allow VW to have greater utilization of the group's battery module assembly plant in Braunschweig, Germany. Several suppliers would be used to source the single cell design, according to one VW spokesperson.

VW is not alone in considering ways to reduce lithium ion battery prices. In January, media outlets quoted Johnson Controls executives who spoke about the need for the auto industry to create a standard size for a pack. Such a move would enable suppliers to increase production rate and volume, thereby lowering battery costs.

VW has also been researching on next-generation lithium ion battery technology that will have five times the energy density of the cells being used today—extending the driving range with a much smaller battery pack.