- VW will launch an electric Golf in 2013.
- The Golf Blue e-motion concept was shown this week at a summit meeting on EVs.
- Production version of the Golf Blue e-motion will have a 113-horsepower electric motor that makes 199 pound-feet of torque and a 26.5-kw lithium-ion battery.
BERLIN — Volkswagen says it will put an all-electric Golf into its lineup as part of the seventh generation of the hardy perennial, coming out in 2013. The Golf Blue e-motion in concept form was rolled out in front of dignitaries including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, this week at a summit meeting on electric vehicles.
As a preview to large-scale production, VW says it will put a test fleet of 500 Golf EVs on roads next year, in large part to test and perfect the energy storage modules and drivetrain.
The production Golf Blue e-motion will have a 113-horsepower electric motor that makes 199 pound-feet of torque "right from a stop" and a 26.5-kw lithium-ion battery. The electric Golf will have an 87-mph top speed and a 93-mile driving range.
VW's plan for 2013 is to bring out the Up Blue e-motion city car first, followed by a Golf Blue e-motion and a Jetta Blue e-motion. At the same time, the automaker will launch the Lavida Blue e-motion in China. In hybrid plans, VW will bring out a hybrid Jetta in 2012 and Golf and Passat hybrids in 2013.
Volkswagen showed a concept zero-emissions Berlin Taxi that it said could become a "highly coveted" product in Berlin, New York, Beijing, London, Moscow and other major cities. The taxi is still a "pure concept," VW emphasized.
VW also called for a "national platform for electric mobility" at the summit, saying the German auto industry should focus on bringing out zero-emission vehicles and getting an infrastructure in place to support their use. The German government has said it wants to see a million EVs on German roads by 2020.
Volkswagen has stated an ambitious goal: "To use bestsellers such as the Golf to take electric vehicles out of their niche-model status and become the market leader for a new type of sustainable mobility by 2018."
Inside Line says: VW and Germany have set no small goals. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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juan_mx says:
06:20 AM, 05/06/2010
I guess VW fans have to thank NISSAN for this.
fortstring says:
01:57 PM, 05/05/2010
It's pretty cool how hybrid and electric tech is slowly but surely becoming the standard paradigm for automobiles. Looks like the e-motor's specs are close to the Nissan Leaf's. I'd get an electric Golf, if the price is close to the old school 5 banger.
delraylocal says:
12:23 PM, 05/05/2010
I see it as brown, for POO POO.
LOL!
That is a good observation though, I wonder if we will see more colors for other regions?
gmhl10 says:
08:10 AM, 05/05/2010
Slightly off-topic, but how is it that Germans see going eco-friendly as blue (like this car and Mercedes BlueHybrid/BlueTEC and BMW Hydrogen 7 paint job... although notably so because the byproduct is water... ), but Americans see it as green (green leaf on Ford hybrids, green H on GM hybrids, and just the phrase "going green")?