Who cares about diesel? VW may debut 300-mile EV in Paris
That's certainly one way to get everybody thinking about something that isn't illegal pollution.
Volkswagen's made clear its plan to move past diesel and toward electrification. To that end, it's announced that it will unveil 30 new electric vehicles by 2025. It appears that we'll be getting our first taste of this plan at the Paris Motor Show, where the automaker will reportedly unveil its next EV.
Herbert Diess, brand manager for Volkswagen, confirmed the news to German magazine Wirtschafts Woche, Electrek reports. He said the vehicle would be about the size of a Golf, with the cargo capacity of a larger Passat, and that its range would be between 400 and 600 kilometers on the European cycle, so it's safe to assume the range in the US would be around 300 miles.
What's unveiled in Paris will reportedly stand as a prototype, but Diess told the magazine that it would closely resemble what will enter production before the end of the decade. That means VW's EV would lag slightly behind other big-time US EVs, like the Chevrolet Bolt (slated for 2017) and the Tesla Model 3 (slated for, um, whenever Tesla feels like it?).
The Tesla Model S and Model X already have ranges above 300 miles, but their high price points are keeping them from many buyers, and more affordable offerings have ranges closer to 100 miles. Thus, the race is on for automakers to develop EVs that are affordable (read: a base price under $40,000 after incentives) with enough range for longer trips and commutes. Many are treating the 300-mile range as the de facto standard for future electric vehicles.
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