Volkswagen is said to be unveiling an electric vehicle next month at the Paris Motor Show, with the car expected to have a range of about 300 miles on a single charge.
As Volkswagen continues to deal with the aftermath of the dieselgate scandal, the company has promised that it will be launching electric vehicles into the market by 2020. It seems that the timeline has moved forward, with the automobile manufacturer planning to release the electric vehicle that will be unveiled next month in as early as two years.
Herbert Diess, the chairman of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, in an interview with German magazine Wirtschafts Woche, said that the electric vehicle to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show will be able to achieve a single-charge range of 400 kilometers to 600 kilometers, which is equivalent to about 250 miles to 370 miles. However, Diess is likely referring to the more forgiving New European Driving Cycle rating, which does not reflect the range of vehicles in the real world. As such, the range of the vehicle will likely only be rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency at about 300 miles on a single charge.
Still, a single-charge range of 300 miles would make it the longest-range electric vehicle in the market, eclipsing the 215-mile range announced by Tesla for the upcoming Model 3 electric vehicle.
Diess also revealed that the soon-to-be unveiled electric vehicle will have a size similar to the Volkswagen Golf, but it will have the cargo space of the larger Volkswagen Passat.
The prototype that Volkswagen will be showing off next month will be near to the vehicle that will be going into production. According to Diess, the target date for that would be between 2018 and 2019, beating the previously announced goal of launching electric vehicles by 2020.
Diess also told Wirtschafts Woche that to be able to produce millions of electric vehicles, it will have to manufacture its own batteries or purchase batteries made in Germany. This confirms earlier reports that Volkswagen has plans to construct its own battery factory, similar to what Tesla Motors is doing with its $5 billion Gigafactory in Nevada, which is being rushed to completion to be able to meet the expected demand for the Model 3.
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller has affirmed that the automobile manufacturer is looking to launch at least 30 electric vehicle models by 2025, with annual sales estimated to be within the range of 2 million to 3 million units per year.
