Volkswagen’s first production EV is expected to make debut at the Paris Motor Show as a prototype beforing entering markets in late 2018 or early 2019
The German automaker’s first-ever all-electric model will be broken covers at the 2016 Paris Motor Show according to chairman Herbert Diess. He said the car will be proportionally similar to the Golf hatchback but the interiors will be as spacious as Passat. The production version of the prototype about-to-debut will come in late 2018 or in the beginning of 2019.
The Volkswagen Group’s CEO Matthias Muller affirmed that the brand’s engineers have been tasked with developing an electric vehicle that bears the exteriors as nostalgic as the Golf while providing range of 500 kilometres. The charging time is said to be just 15 minutes and more interestingly priced lower than regular internal combustion engined car.
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However, the plan divulged by him during Geneva Motor Show had the production target set for halfway through next decade. This electric vehicle will play a key role in the zero emission fleet of Volkswagen as the brand seeks redemption after being hit vehemently by the emission cheating scandal. It is a watershed project similar to the i3 according to Autocar.
VW’s Braunschweig R&D centre has also said to be working on the new car for the digital generation. It is understood to have 4,400 mm length and will be first to use the all-new MEB architecture developed specifically for electric cars. Diess chose certain group of engineers and challenged them to produce an ultimate electric car with superior performance.
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The MEB platform was showcased on the Budd-e MPV concept at the 2016 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and is rumoured to have a setup touted as “fundamental change in electric cars”. Volkswagen has given a go by experimenting electric developments on Up and Golf besides the highly fuel efficient XL1. The upcoming generation of e-Golf, resultantly due to the earlier phases of R and D, is expected to have range close to 300 kilometres and will be entering international markets by 2018.
The Budd-e and the unknown electric car will be completely different despite sharing same platform and there will be 20 odd electric or plug-in hybrid models adorning the electric fleet by the end of this decade.
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