Electric cars are coming from all directions as manufacturers attempt to meet tough new emissions mandates and respond to hypothetical consumer demand. Within five years or so, most carmakers are expected to offer at least one electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid, and that includes Volkswagen. We recently visited VW's Wolfsburg, Germany, headquarters to sample a prototype of the company's first U.S.-bound electric car, the Golf blue-e-motion. We've driven the car before, and didn't learn anything new on this second drive (read our initial minitest for the details). We did, however, learn a few more details about the car and when it will appear.
Although the prototypes we drove wore MKVI Golf bodies, the "e-Golf" will be based instead on the seventh-gen car. Arrival in U.S. dealerships is now scheduled for early 2014. The blue-e-motion will have numerous styling changes to set it apart from workaday Golfs. It'll need them, too, as dozens more EVs and plug-in hybrids will have arrived in other showrooms by that time, ready to fight for the same customers.
VW: Annoyed it Has to Build EVs at All
Why the delay? VW cites ongoing durability testing, in-market studies, and negotiations with battery suppliers, among other reasons. The answer varies depending on which executive you ask, but together, they reveal a distinct lack of confidence in (and, consequently, lack of commitment to) the technology in general, in spite of how well VW may have developed it for the Golf. Christian Klingler, VW AG's board member for sales and marketing, was downright glib when we spoke to him, stating that in effect there is negligible consumer demand for EVs beyond early adopters, and that in reality, EVs are only being built to satisfy emissions requirements in Europe, China, and the U.S. "The electric car is not a request of the consumer, but a request of the government," he said. Klingler did throw a bone to plug-in technology, for what it's worth, saying it is well-suited to larger cars such as the Passat.
Klingler isn't the only German who's bearish about e-mobility. In recent interviews with our own Jens Meiners, execs at Audi and Mercedes-Benz expressed serious reservations about range anxiety ultimately keeping a low ceiling on EV sales once early adopters have been pacified. They also feel it's unlikely that any technological breakthroughs will soon relieve batteries of their Achilles heel: weight. And then there's the matter of cost, as Rudolf Krebs, VW Group chief officer for electric traction, reminded us in Wolfsburg: "The battery will always be more expensive than the fuel tank."
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