CAR NEWS

VW to Launch EV with up to 600 km Range

Aug 18, 2016

Summary
A longe range EV for VW expected in Paris

Reports have surfaced that Volkswagen will be using the Paris Motor Show this October for a launch that could make Tesla a little nervous. According to EV site Electrek, VW CEO Hebert Diess confirmed that the automaker will be unveiling an EV with a range of up to 600 km. That number is based on the more forgiving Euro cycle test, but it should still mean a near-500 km range using Canadian test methods.

Diess added that the new EV will be about the size of a Golf, but will have cargo space closer to that of the Passat. That means we'll have to wait and see if the new car will be a hatch with a high floor or a sedan with a trunk, but a hatch is more likely. Styling could be an evolution of the microbus-inspired BUDD-e concept.

This is all part of Volkswagen's previously announced plan to unveil 30 new electric models by 2025 and reach production of up to three million all-electric cars per year by that point.

The car unveiled in Paris is expected to be close to the production car, either a prototype or a thinly disguised concept, with the production car bowing in 2018 or 2019.

Meet the Author

Evan has been covering cars for close to five years, but has been reading about them since he was 2. He's a certified engineering technologist and a member of AJAC. If it moves and has an engine, Evan's probably interested in it.