Volkswagen to launch Hybrid Golf, Jetta, and Passat
In news that is sure to put smiles on green warriors, Volkswagen is set to add hybrid variants of the Jetta in 2012, followed by the Golf and Passat a year later. What’s more a fully electric Golf and Jetta will come out soon after the arrival of the electric Up! city car in 2013.
After launching the 2011 Touareg hybrid as the brand’s first gas-electric entry, Volkswagen has announced that it will concentrate its electrification efforts on volume sellers, which will help elevate EVs from niche status to mainstream. VW also says it’s behind the German government’s plan to see one million electric vehicles on German roads by 2020.
As part of the announcement, Volkswagen showed a concept version of the electrified Golf, dubbed Golf blue-e-motion, that’s based on the current car. In its current avatar, it uses an electric motor producing 114 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque. With a 26.5-kWh lithium-ion battery that takes up space under the rear seat and in the center tunnel and cargo hold, VW says the Golf will retain about 8.4 cubic feet of its 15 cubes of cargo space. Like with the Mini E, that’s a significant loss in load volume, jeopardizing the hatchback versatility that we so often praise. Of course, weight also will spike—some 452 pounds are gained compared to the current, Euro-only Golf BlueMotion TDI with DSG—from the extra heft of the batteries, which allow for a claimed cruising range of 93 miles.
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June 5th, 2010 - 05:46
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!