Report: facelifted VW e-Golf late this year to boost capacity 48% to 35.8 kWh; 120 kW motor
23 May 2016
Electrive.net reports that the facelifted VW e-Golf, due out late in autumn 2016, will boost its battery capacity 48% from 24.2 kWh to 35.8 kWh through the use of 37 Ah cells (up from the previous 25 Ah). (Earlier post, earlier post.)
Range will be extended to around 300 km (186 miles) NEDC, said Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electrics / Electronics Development at Volkswagen, at a journalist workshop at the Formula E race in Berlin. This will likely result in a real-world range of about 200 km (124 miles).
Dr. Tanneberger said that the company would only offer the e-Golf with the higher capacity, according to the report, instead of offering tiered range options.
In addition, according to the report, the e-Golf’s motor will grow from 100 kW to 120 kW.
Electrive.net also reported that the e-Golf will maintain its slower 3.6 kW on-board charger due to cost issues.
This puts the E-Golf at the top of their range on the roadmap using present batteries.
The next step they reckoned back in 2014 was lithium sulphur batteries, so it will be interesting to see if they manage that for the next E-Golf due in around 2020!
www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2014/07/FM_04_07_14.bin.html/binarystorageitem/file/06_2014-07-04+Presentation+Barclays+London+Steiger+TOP+COPY.pdf
Posted by: Davemart | 23 May 2016 at 03:23 AM
Why was this news put in the 'short news' column, where items fall out faster and are often missed (at least by me).
While there are (understandably) many fans of entirely new cars like Tesla, I believe 'normal-looking' cars from trusted manufacturers have a role to play. And believe it or not, but VW is not really suffering that greatly from #DieselGate in Europe. VW Up! is still the most sold car in Denmark, despite being more expensive than its competitors. So VW remains a 'trusted manufacturer' on the parameters of quality and value for money.
Being a previously satisfied owner of a VW Golf, I would very much welcome a realistically useful VW e-Golf. I have sympathy for the BMW i3 although the exterior design leaves much to be desired.
Anyway, my point is: This is significant news, and news I have been awaiting eagerly.
And great news that they have both announced ~50% extra range from the same size battery pack within a short amount of time.
PS. Good thing I didn't purchase one of the old models with inferior range. Good luck selling those on the used car market... (general downside with BEVs in this time of rapidly increasing battery performance).
Posted by: Thomas Pedersen | 24 May 2016 at 03:56 AM
I think it's also a useful reminder of how dramatically range can be improved without any change to the vehicle other than cell chemistry/packaging. How often does the mpg of a gasoline powered car increase by 50% at a model refresh? We can expect many more similar tales of astonishing progress with respect to range from the other manufacturers in due course.
Incidentally, this leap forward is dramatically faster than they had projected in their 'Sustainable Mobility' presentation of 2014 (see link below). Back then, they were projecting slow progress from 25 Ah through 28, 34 and eventually 36 Ah at each Golf model refresh. Looks like they've decided to bypass all of that.
The same presentation also indicates their aim to switch to lithium-sulphur (500 Wh/kg) and eventually lithium air (1,000 Wh/kg). Imagine if they brought that in ahead of schedule.
http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2014/07/FM_04_07_14.bin.html/binarystorageitem/file/06_2014-07-04+Presentation+Barclays+London+Steiger+TOP+COPY.pdf
Posted by: clett | 24 May 2016 at 02:01 PM
Mike has excellent links with the VW group, and I am hoping that this short aside is simply a taster for a review in depth of the higher capacity ( and engine power ) e-golf, with Mike having a test drive and all.
Here's hoping!
Posted by: Davemart | 25 May 2016 at 02:26 AM
I was a little surprised about the news of the motor increasing from 100 to 120 kW because the current model i specified with a 115 hp motor, far from 100 kW (136 hp).
The Danish brochure claims 12.7 kWh/100 km totaling a range of 190 km in the current model, which nobody seems to have reached, ever. It's what you get by dividing 24.2 by 0.127.
48% more than 190 km would be 281 km, signaling even more overly-optimistic range spec.
There has also been quite a lot of noise about the 24.2 kWh being the total battery capacity, not the available capacity.
I will take 200 km real life range, though. Up from circa 133 km, it's a marked difference that really boosts the utility of the car.
Having to charge a Tesla every 2-3 hours on long trips is OK. Having to charge your car every hour, sweating profusely with anxiety over making it to the next charging place is not!.
Realistically, the e-Golf is only viable as a second car. However, in the Danish brochure VW claims to have made deals with rental companies, meaning that you get good deals for larger cars, when you need them. This is particularly relevant in Denmark, where people own few cars because of insane car taxes (>100% of the value of the car - BEVs are almost exempt, however)
Posted by: Thomas Pedersen | 26 May 2016 at 01:28 AM