Volkswagen shows off e-Golf and e-Up! before Frankfurt
Tue, 27 Aug 2013
The power of ions has overcome two models in the Volkswagen range, the resulting e-Golf and e-Up slated for world premieres at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The e-Up uses a 60-kW motor producing 155 pound-feet of torque, gets from 0-to-62 miles per hour in 12.4 seconds an on to a top speed of 81 mph. It's 18.7 kWh battery will get it a range of 100 miles, and VW figures that its ability to go 100 kilometers with 11.7 kWh of electricity will cost just three euros and two cents at current rates.
The larger e-Golf gets more powerful internals, a 24.2-kWh battery powering an 85-kW motor producing 199 lb-ft of torque, getting it from standstill to 62 mph in 10.4 seconds and on to an electronically-limited of 87 mph. It has a range of 118 miles, its cost to do 100 km only slightly higher than the e-Up at three euros and 30 cents, or 12.7 kWh.
Driving dynamics can be controlled through two driving modes and four regenerative brake modes. Each car also shares standard features like climate control and navigation, and both can be charged to about 80 percent of battery capacity in thirty minutes using the powerful CCS chargers in Germany. The e-Golf goes further, getting LED headlights as standard - the first VW to get the high-tech eyes.
There's a press release below with more information, and we'll see them live at Frankfurt in a couple of weeks.
IAA 2013 – Volkswagen electrifies high-volume production: World premieres of the e-Golf and e-up! as leading duo
The e-Golf. Das e-Auto.
190 km driving range and LED headlights as standard
The e-up! The world champion of efficiency.
11.7 kWh/100 km for €3 sets benchmark for efficiency
Wolfsburg, 27 August 2013 - In a dual world premiere, Volkswagen will be presenting two new and extremely efficient electric cars at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt (10th to 22nd September): the e-up! and e-Golf. This means that Europe's most successful carmaker is transitioning two high-volume production models to the age of electric mobility. Both zero-emissions cars offer unlimited everyday practicality, each has four doors, and they are attractively equipped. Standard features: automatic climate control with parking heater and ventilation, radio-navigation system, windscreen heating, LED daytime running lights and, in the e-Golf, the Volkswagen brand's first use of LED headlights. The two newcomers are also leaders in energy efficiency: the e-up! consumes just 11.7 kWh of electricity per 100 km – this makes it the new world champion in efficiency. The e-Golf, positioned two classes higher, attains an excellent value of 12.7 kWh. Given an electricity price of €0.258 per kWh (Germany, as of 31st July 2013), driving 100 km with the e-up! costs just €3.02, and with the e-Golf it is around €3.30.
Made in Germany. Innovative drive technologies are core competencies at Volkswagen. Therefore, the e-motors, gearboxes and lithium-ion batteries of the e-up! and e-Golf are developed in-house, and they are manufactured in large Volkswagen component plants in Germany.
Typical Volkswagen. All Volkswagen are intuitive to operate, extremely practical in everyday use and sophisticated, and these traits have been fully transferred to the brand's new e-vehicles. The zero-emission cars from Volkswagen are manufactured with the same high-volume production systems as their counterparts with combustion engines.
e-Golf data. The e-Golf, which is being presented in a world premiere in Frankfurt, is driven by a 85 kW / 115 PS electric motor. The motor produces its maximum drive torque of 270 Nm as soon as it starts off. The results: the front-wheel drive e-Golf reaches 100 km/h in 10.4 seconds. On a motorway, the speed of the five-seat front-wheel drive car is electronically limited to 140 km/h.
e-up! data. Also making its debut in a world premiere at the IAA is the four-seat e-up!. Its electric motor produces 60 kW / 82 PS. This motor transmits 210 Nm of torque to the driven front axle from a standstill. It completes the sprint to 100 km/h in 12.4 seconds. Top speed: 130 km/h.
Driving ranges tailored for commuters. The e-up! can drive 160 km on one battery charge (18.7 kWh), while the e-Golf with its larger battery (24.2 kWh) has a range of 190 km. In both models, two very efficient driving modes ("Eco", "Eco+") and four just as easy to activate regenerative braking modes ("D1", "D2", "D3" and "B") help to extend maximum ranges. And they are driving ranges that make sense. In Germany, for example, studies by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development found that around 80 per cent of all car drivers in Germany drive fewer than 50 km daily.
Quick charging. The fastest CCS charging stations (direct current) shorten the time needed to charge the battery of an e-up! or an e-Golf to 80 per cent capacity to just around half an hour.
Powertrain and fuel strategy. Over the past decade, Volkswagen has already systematically sketched out a schedule for the future in its powertrain and fuel strategy, which included starting points for electric vehicles like the e-up! and e-Golf. This strategy sets up a timeline with realistic time windows for the introduction of alternative drive systems such as the hybrid, electric and hydrogen-based systems. In this scenario, the all-electric drive system – which will be demonstrated by the new e-up! and e-Golf – represents an indispensable and sensible supplemental drive system. That is because electric cars utilise renewable energy sources and enable zero-emissions mobility in metropolitan areas. Nonetheless, well into the future Volkswagen will continue to promote an intelligent mix of the most efficient drive systems.
Driving at the pace of the big city. The fact is that the target group for electric cars is growing, because a paradigm shift has begun. Sustainable mobility is having an increasing impact on people's actions. Yet the products for implementing this environmental awareness must be practical and fun as well - such as the e-up! and e-Golf which accelerate to big city pace in just a few seconds. The new zero-emission Volkswagen cars therefore have the potential for irreversibly charging up the electric car segment with innovative technology, a high level of everyday practicality and a dynamic driving feeling.
By Jonathon Ramsey