“Do those non-diesel things, only better,” seems to be Volkswagen’s mantra these days.
The aftermath of the continuing diesel emissions scandal saw the embattled automaker dive deep into cleaner technology, and it now looks like VW wants its name on a relatively cheap electric vehicle, Autocar reports (via Carscoops).
The company has been bullish on electrification ever since the scandal broke, but its current financial situation means careful planning is in order. The standalone EV model would likely ride atop VW’s modular MEB platform, which the company sees as being a big money saver — once more models begin using it.
If the company reaps the anticipated benefits of its plug-in platform, it hopes to offer the new EV at a price lower than its electric e-Golf, with a far better range.
“The MEB platform toolkit gives us the perfect opportunity to gain scale by using the platform solution in as many ways as possible,” said Frank Welsch, technical development head for VW. “If we can achieve scale then all sorts of things will become open to us, from reduced costs to faster R&D.”
The newest version of the e-Golf (which carries an MSRP of $28,995, before a federal tax credit) arrives in less than a year with a 108-mile range, better than the current model’s 83-mile range, but lagging that of upcoming models like the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3.
To stand out from the pack, the company is aiming for a 310-mile range for its future EV (or a nicely rounded 300 kilometres for metric aficionados), with an ultra-fast charging time of 15 minutes.
Volkswagen’s green epiphany isn’t relegated to just battery-powered vehicles and hybrids. Last week, the automaker showed off its new 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, festooned with every gas-saving technology it could lay its hands on.
They aren’t bleeding enough money as it is?
“the company is aiming for a 310-mile range for its future EV (or a nicely rounded 300 kilometres for metric aficionados)”
FYI. 310 miles is 500km not 300.
I’ve test driven an e-Golf and other than the low 83 mile range, it offers a much nicer interior and features like a telescoping steering wheel that the Nissan Leaf lacks. It’s in no way, shape, or form a competitor for the likes of Tesla or the BMW i3 but it’s not a bad little car.
I’d like to see them bring over the Golf GTE PHEV or maybe offer the 1.4T hybrid powertrain from the Jetta in the Golf or Passat.
83 mile range…
Yikes.
It’s a CARB compliance car, like the Honda Fit EV or Fiat 500e, they offer the lease incentives to make the regulators happy.
A few students at my university have them just to get the free parking sticker and charging.
That’s the range when my car’s low fuel light on.
“To stand out from the pack, the company is aiming for a 310-mile range for its future EV (or a nicely rounded 300 kilometres for metric aficionados)”
Those numbers don’t compute, unless Europe is getting a much smaller battery.
I saw it already.
I wasn’t allowed to take pics- but I can draw a little.
VW has no choice but to build into Electric.
For what it’s worth, the company already makes a cheaper EV than the e-Golf called the e-Up!, which although burdened with an apostrophe in its name is smaller and much nicer to drive than the Leaf and has the benefit of not looking like a toad someone painted.
Hmmmm.. Low price electric car. Sounds to me like a lot of German jobs will be joining the American ones in Mexico. Thank you NAFTA.
Newsflash: the US is in the middle of the longest period of private sector job creation in history.
Maybe so, but they’re mostly low-paying jobs.
Actually, this month’s jobs report shows the opposite – that white collar, professional services jobs are what’s growing.
Electric vehicles are on the rise in today’s market, so it is not surprising that auto giants including VW are jumping into the bandwagon too. It is not just about encouraging a greener lifestyle but it is also about reaping the profits from yet another prospective industry.
I don’t buy the MEB platform propaganda. An EV is sufficiently different than a reg car due to size/shape of batteries, size of drivetrain, etc., that they should have a dedicated, optimized platform.
redav,
The MEB platform *is* VW’s dedicated platform for electric vehicles.