In July, Volkswagen AG Chairman of the Board of Management Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said that Volkswagen would introduce its first electric vehicles based on the up! New Small Family in 2013. (Earlier post.)

Volkswagen first unveiled the up! concept vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007. Based on a completely new platform and drivetrain and measuring just 3.45 metres in length, the engined-versions of the up! mark a return to the rear-engined layout once seen in the original Beetle.

In November 2007, Volkswagen presented the space up! blue concept car powered by a high temperature fuel cell and an array of twelve lithium-ion batteries.