E-Up!
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While its new 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf will be the first-ever plug-in electric VW sold in the U.S., the German carmaker has a surprisingly long history of prototype electric cars. Two weeks ago, during a drive event for its VW e-Golf and e-Up production models, along with prototype Golf GTE plug-in hybrids, Volkswagen showed off restored examples of some of its earlier electric test vehicles. MORE: 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf: Drive Report, First U.S. Sale Details Volkswagen has experimented with electric cars since the 1970s, when the Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit) platform was first produced. These...
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Volkswagen e-Up: Driving VW's Smallest Electric Car (Forbidden Fruit)Of the three plug-in VW cars we drove in Berlin this month, the one we liked best is the one we won't get in North America. The Volkswagen e-Up battery-electric minicar is a blast. It's small, rollerskate-agile, and performs well enough that it would be our preferred vehicle in any crowded city...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Up Minicar Revealed, 3-Cylinder Engines, 56 MPG
Volkswagen has been teasing us with concept versions of its Up minicar since the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2007, but finally the production version has been revealed and will make its debut at Frankfurt again in September. The Up (which VW spells "up!") is part of Volkswagen's drive towards greater...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Founder Eberhard Leading VW Efforts in Silicon Valley
Many global automakers have research outposts in Silicon Valley. BMW's is one floor of an unremarkable office building in downtown Palo Alto, while Volkswagen's much larger Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) occupies a whole building in an office park nestled in the foothills above Stanford...
John Voelcker -
All-Electric Volkswagen E-Up Coming To U.S. In 2013
Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, as well as the launch of a Jetta Hybrid in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volkswagen Will Dominate the World of Electric Cars. Got That?
Maybe it's just the translation. But auto writers often chuckle at announcements from German manufacturers that come across as just a touch bombastic. Latest case in point: Volkswagen's long-term plans for vehicle electrification, released at the Geneva Motor Show this week. Key excerpt...
John Voelcker -
With the Frankfurt Auto Show now underway, Volkswagen came out with both guns blazing to underscore its green-car credentials. The latest VW concept is the E-Up, a battery electric version of its Up mini-car, with 80 miles of range. It follows the L1, an ultra-high-mileage diesel two-seater that returns an astounding 170 miles per gallon. VW's first electric car In some ways, the E-Up is the more unexpected of the two. Like most German makers, VW was late to the electric-vehicle game. It hasn't yet launched any hybrids, instead focusing on its diesels. Indeed, its press release says somewhat...
