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Volkswagen has announced plans to launch a small electric car in 2013. But the firm’s Chairman has warned the market to be cautious against premature e-car hype.
Speaking at a recent energy conference in Munich, Martin Winterkorn said that his firm’s first e-car will be based on its Up! urban vehicle concept.
By 2019 VW also hopes to offer a range of e-cars, each costing no more than €2,000 (£1,700/$2,800) above the corresponding price of a petrol or diesel model.
VW hasn’t disclosed any technical details on the leccy Up! But the firm said that by 2019 a decent e-car should have a range of around 480 miles, a charge time of between one and two hours and access to quick-change battery swap facilities.
VW_Up_Concept
It’s not all smooth driving up ahead, though, Winterkorn noted. In his view several problems persist with leccy cars, including range and charge time – both of which the VW executive described as “simply inappropriate” for the job at hand.
Winterkorn also hinted that the current cost of battery packs for small e-cars with a modest range are too high, with prices set somewhere in the region of between €8,000 (£6,900/$11,000) and €12,000 (£10,300/$16,700).
Electric cars will still only account for between 1 and 1.5 per cent of all cars on the world's roads by 2020, according to VW’s figures. It’s safe to assume that e-car numbers will be highest in developed urban areas, though.
“We are witnessing an electro-hype,” said Winterkorn. “Experts, consultants and politicians tumble over one another with forecasts” resulting in “massively false expectations by the customer”.
He also questioned how environmentally friendly e-cars are if they draw power from coal-fired power stations, suggesting that more effort needs to be put into renewable generation for electric vehicles.
VW UP! Picture gallery: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/11...out/page2.html
Volkswagen has announced plans to launch a small electric car in 2013. But the firm’s Chairman has warned the market to be cautious against premature e-car hype.
Speaking at a recent energy conference in Munich, Martin Winterkorn said that his firm’s first e-car will be based on its Up! urban vehicle concept.
By 2019 VW also hopes to offer a range of e-cars, each costing no more than €2,000 (£1,700/$2,800) above the corresponding price of a petrol or diesel model.
VW hasn’t disclosed any technical details on the leccy Up! But the firm said that by 2019 a decent e-car should have a range of around 480 miles, a charge time of between one and two hours and access to quick-change battery swap facilities.
VW_Up_Concept
It’s not all smooth driving up ahead, though, Winterkorn noted. In his view several problems persist with leccy cars, including range and charge time – both of which the VW executive described as “simply inappropriate” for the job at hand.
Winterkorn also hinted that the current cost of battery packs for small e-cars with a modest range are too high, with prices set somewhere in the region of between €8,000 (£6,900/$11,000) and €12,000 (£10,300/$16,700).
Electric cars will still only account for between 1 and 1.5 per cent of all cars on the world's roads by 2020, according to VW’s figures. It’s safe to assume that e-car numbers will be highest in developed urban areas, though.
“We are witnessing an electro-hype,” said Winterkorn. “Experts, consultants and politicians tumble over one another with forecasts” resulting in “massively false expectations by the customer”.
He also questioned how environmentally friendly e-cars are if they draw power from coal-fired power stations, suggesting that more effort needs to be put into renewable generation for electric vehicles.
VW UP! Picture gallery: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/11...out/page2.html
That's the best looking electric car yet.
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