Frankfurt show: Volkswagen readies e-Golf and e-Up

VOLKSWAGEN will reveal two production-ready electric vehicles at the Frankfurt motor show next month, with confirmation the e-Up and e-Golf will sit on-stage alongside the Golf R uber-hatch.

The German car-maker is claiming an electric-only driving range of 190km for the e-Golf, while the smaller electrified Up can travel up to 160km before needing to be recharged.

The respective ranges compare to 199km for fellow EVs such as the updated Nissan Leaf, 150km for the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and a claimed 210km for the forthcoming Renault Zoe.

To boost the maximum driving ranges on both vehicles, Volkswagen has included two driving modes (Eco and Eco+) as well as four regenerative braking modes.

The front-wheel drive e-Golf is powered by an 85kW/270Nm electric motor paired with a 24.2kWh battery that propels the hatch to 100km/h in 10.4 seconds, before hitting an electrically limited top speed of 140km/h.

Power for the smaller Up comes from a 60kW/210Nm electric motor combined with a 18.7kWh battery, allowing for a 12.4-second 0-100km/h time and a 130km/h top speed.

The e-Golf consumes 12.7kWh of electricity per 100km, while the slightly more energy efficient e-Up uses 11.7kWh per 100km, a figure Volkswagen claims makes it “the new world champion in efficiency”.

The German giant says that charging either vehicle to 80 per cent capacity via a direct-current electric charging station will take around 30 minutes.

Volkswagen says in a statement that the electric motors, gearboxes and lithium-ion batteries from both cars are developed in-house and manufactured at the company’s large German components plants.

The e-Golf and e-Up feature standard gear such as windscreen heating, automatic climate control, a radio-navigation system and LED daytime running lights, while the e-Golf adds LED headlights, making it the first Volkswagen-branded vehicle to use them.

A concept of the e-Golf was revealed at the Geneva motor show earlier this year, while the first e-Up was shown as a very early concept at the 2009 Frankfurt show. At this stage, neither is confirmed for Australia, withVolkswagen’s local arm in the evaluation stage only.

Only 167 EVs and plug-in hybrids have found homes in Australia this year.

The electrified duo won’t be the only stars of the Volkswagen’s stand at Frankfurt this year, with the European-spec 221kW Golf R set to debut in production guise.