Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen’s future electrification plans might lead to developing an EV based on every model in the lineup.
We already know that VW has the ambition to become the leader of the electric vehicle segment by 2025, but this cannot be achieved with just a few options. The latest rumor regarding the Wolfsburg-based brand focuses on the possibility of turning each model in the portfolio into an electric vehicle.
While other automakers prefer to launch dedicated platforms for electric cars, along with distinctive designs, Volkswagen might go against the trends and keep using its design language on electric vehicles that will be based on internal combustion-engined models. Some electric automobiles from this automaker will come with a dedicated platform, mind you.
VW already does this with the Golf and the Up!, two of its products that are also available as electric cars, and none of them was dramatically changed from an aesthetic point of view.
The company’s future ambitions could lead to making an EV out of almost every model in the offer. The convertible and performance models might be spared from the transformation, but only if the company’s analysts will predict that electric versions of those cars will not be popular in the market.
Volkswagen’s recent cost-cutting efforts might be the reason behind the decision to implement electric vehicles on existing platforms and designs. Consumers might benefit from this judgment, as VW’s products might be cheaper than those of their competitors because the automaker does not have to redesign crucial body elements for the electric transformation.
However, VW does have its work cut out for itself, as the company’s latest e-Golf, the 2017 model year of the electric compact hatchback, has recently been improved to have a range of 124 miles (200 kilometers) on the EPA test cycle.
The range of the German hatchback was doubled when compared to its previous variant, but it is still lagging behind competitors like the Chevrolet Bolt. On the other hand, the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf does offer a bigger range than the 2016 Ford Focus Electric, and the same goes for the Nissan Leaf.
While other automakers prefer to launch dedicated platforms for electric cars, along with distinctive designs, Volkswagen might go against the trends and keep using its design language on electric vehicles that will be based on internal combustion-engined models. Some electric automobiles from this automaker will come with a dedicated platform, mind you.
VW already does this with the Golf and the Up!, two of its products that are also available as electric cars, and none of them was dramatically changed from an aesthetic point of view.
The company’s future ambitions could lead to making an EV out of almost every model in the offer. The convertible and performance models might be spared from the transformation, but only if the company’s analysts will predict that electric versions of those cars will not be popular in the market.
Volkswagen’s recent cost-cutting efforts might be the reason behind the decision to implement electric vehicles on existing platforms and designs. Consumers might benefit from this judgment, as VW’s products might be cheaper than those of their competitors because the automaker does not have to redesign crucial body elements for the electric transformation.
However, VW does have its work cut out for itself, as the company’s latest e-Golf, the 2017 model year of the electric compact hatchback, has recently been improved to have a range of 124 miles (200 kilometers) on the EPA test cycle.
The range of the German hatchback was doubled when compared to its previous variant, but it is still lagging behind competitors like the Chevrolet Bolt. On the other hand, the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf does offer a bigger range than the 2016 Ford Focus Electric, and the same goes for the Nissan Leaf.
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