VW to Have Electric Car by 2013

By Aaron Turpen, Mon, May 24, 2010

In brief: Volkswagen has made their electrification plans more open, promising an e-Golf by 2013 and releasing some specs on the vehicle.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: e-Golf
Manufacturer: Volkswagen

The word

e-Golf VW promises the e-Golf (aka "Golf Blue-e-Motion) all-electric by 2013. The car will reportedly have a 93 mile range using a 26.5kWh lithium battery pack. The car will weigh about 3,400 pounds - comparable to the Nissan LEAF.

The same drive train that powers the electric Golf will also power an electric e-UP and Jetta. The e-UP is an ultra-compact car.

Interestingly, the drive train will incorporate coasting in the mix. VW execs mentioned that when the driver lets off the accelerator, the vehicle will disengage the motor (meaning put the transmission in neutral) so the vehicle can coast.

And so ...

An interesting option and one that has been used in many prototype EVs in the past, such as the RAV4-EV.

Photo credits: VW

I never thought about this

Submitted by BrandiC on Wed, 05/26/2010 - 22:00.

I never thought about this until I read articles about this. Is the electronic car likely to kill our freeway funds? One of the huge debates about gasoline prices is always the required taxes on them, but those taxes go towards such things as maintaining our roadways. If people stop buying gas, the resources to keep up our roads will dwindle. Taxes from fuel aren't something many people think about except when they're paying a huge bill at the gas pump. However if we do away with gas cars, the taxes could have to come from somewhere else. It really is almost a scary thought.