Originally published on CleanTechnica.
The Volkswagen e-Golf will be getting a battery-pack size upgrade in the near-future, according to recent reports.
The model’s lithium-ion battery-pack capacity will be increased from 24.2 kilowatt-hours (kWh) to 35.8 kWh, reportedly. This will translate to an increase in range, leading to a total (real-world) range of around 200 kilometers per charge. Pricing information for the improved model has yet to be revealed.
It’s presumed that the upgraded Volkswagen e-Golf will first become available in late 2016.
The head of electric vehicle development at Volkswagen, Dr Volkmar Tanneberger, commented that the upgraded battery pack will be the only option available for purchase — the old 24.2 kWh battery-pack option is being discontinued.
“We go to the new generation,” is how Volkmar Tanneberger put it.
Electrive provides more (through an online translation service):
The power of the electric motors for the E-Golf is growing with the facelift also: future Instead 100kW stand at traffic lights start a maximum of 120 kW. Here the BMW i3 flits 125kW probably still a bit faster away, while the Nissan with “only” 80 kW tends to indicates the efficiency. Pity that Volkswagen could not bring as BMW continue to build in a 11 kW on-board charger for three-phase loading. The e-Golf will remain so at least in Germany a “snoring handlers” who “sucks” to the widespread AC charging stations as well as on the domestic wall box with 3.6 kW.
According to E / E-conductor Tannenberger which is mainly a cost issue: “Somewhere we have to make a point,” Tannenberger formulated in discussion with electrive.net. Instead of an expensive 11 kW onboard charger to set consistently fast DC charging with 50 kW per CCS. For cities like Berlin, where is currently being built on a large scale AC infrastructure with 11 kW, but only relatively few fast-charging infrastructure, far from ideal. Good for those who can take advantage of working at home the night charge and / or in operation. At Nissan, there is an option now also in Germany the figure is a 6.6 kW onboard charger that is able to fill the 30-kWh battery at an appropriate infrastructure within 5.5 hours.
Interesting news. But still gives one the impression that the company is really beginning to fall behind. The next decade should be quite an interesting one in the automotive sector.