Volkswagen to Use Golf Variant twinDRIVE as Research Vehicles

German automaker Volkswagen, in cooperation with six other partners, initiated the “Fleet study in electric mobility” in mid-2008, with the goal of consistently use renewable energy sources for electrically powered vehicles. Now, the project - set to run until June 2012 - has entered a new phase, which will see the implementation of a total of 20 of the latest generation Golf Variant twinDRIVE cars as research vehicles.

The Golf Variant twinDRIVE enables distances of up to 57 km on pure electrical power; an additional small internal combustion engine provides for a total range of about 900 km.

One of the goals of Volkswagen AG is to launch numerous plug-in hybrid cars on the market in the years 2013/2014. In the area of electric mobility, they are intended to supplement the Group’s hybrid models that are already being produced today, , as well as the pure electric vehicles that will also debut from 2013.

“When it comes to driving with zero emissions within cities while covering far greater distances as pure electric vehicles – the twinDRIVE system by Volkswagen sets new standards and could over the mid-term develop into the ideal form of mobility for the vast majority of car drivers,” stated Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen AG.

The “Fleet study in electric mobility” is analyzing the usage behavior of drivers of cars with electrical charging, electric load control and intelligent strategies in the charging process. In addition, a scenario is being tested, in which some of the daily peak electrical demand might be buffered by the cars’ lithium-ion batteries in the future.