VW unveils two electric cars ready for production: The e-Up! and The e-Golf

Volkswagen unveiled two new electric car models last September 10th at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The “e-Up!” which packs a 99 mile range and the “e-Golf” with a 118 mile range, both are powered by lithium ion batteries and electric motors but have different specifications.

Volkswagen e-Golf

source: volkswagen

The VW e-Golf is a five-door hatchback, looks a lot like the regular Golf, but under the hood its a totally different machine. It uses a 24.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, made up of 264 individual cells (adding up to 323-volt). It is driven by a 85 kW/ 115 PS electric with a maximum revolution of up to 12,000-RPM, and deliver a maximum torque of 270 Nm.

Like most EVs, the transmission is single-speed. According to VW, accelerating from 0-62 miles per hour takes 10.4 seconds in the electrified seventh-generation Golf, with the top speed is electronically limited to a maximum 87 mph. The power-train gives the e-Golf a range between 130 and 190 km (81 and 118 miles), and it manages to use about 12.7 kWh of energy per 62 miles with the help of its low drag coefficient of 0.28, depending on driving conditions.

Standard wall-socket will fully charge the e-Golf’s battery from empty to full within 13 hours.

Volkswagen e-Up!

The VW e-Up! is a three-door hatchback, also looks like the small brother of the e-Golf. It’s smaller, with a smaller electric motor that runs on a 18.7-kWh lithium-ion battery and genrates 60 kW / 82 PS electric motor capable of 210 Nm of torque. The e-up! has a driving range between 120 to 160 km (75 to 99 miles) depending on driving conditions

The e-Up! is considered to be the more efficient model. Using only 11.7 kWh per 61 miles, wins it over the e-Golf in efficiency.

Standard wall-socket will fully charge the e-Up’s battery from empty to full within nine hours.

Add an optional wall box charger for garages or charging stations, the e-Up! and e-Golf can be charged from empty to full within six hours. But the quickest charging option is using the combined charging system (CCS) using a DC power supply. Using that, the e-Up! can be charged from empty to 80 percent in just half an hour.

The pair of VWs were designed in-house by the automaker while the critical components, including the motors, gearboxes and batteries, will be built in Germany at VW’s Kassel components plant.

Both EVs have three drive modes; Normal, Eco and ECO+. They also feature four levels of regenerative braking, D1, D2, D3 and B. Progression to higher levels of regenerative braking allow the e-Up! and e-Golf to recover more energy for the battery.

The progression will likely have an effect on how the car drives due the braking levels. So as it progress from D1 to B, the driver will feel a stronger slowing effect from the electric motor, just like the engine braking of traditional cars.

The e-Up! and e-Golf be available by 2014 in Europe, other markets will follow. The e-Golf will be entering U.S market by late 2014 or early 2015. But no word yet, if or when e-Up! will follow. There are also no detail yet on the production numbers and pricing, most likely depending on demand.

source: volkswagen