Volkswagen Ships Electric Golf to California for Testing
In an effort to help the German government reach its goal of one million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, Volkswagen has been working on a development program for its own electric vehicles. So, the German automaker is shipping electric vehicles to the United States for testing purposes.
20 of the company’s 500 eGolf prototype vehicles will be heading to its Electronic Research Laboratory (ERL) in Belmont, California, for testing of its new electric powertrain and to gain real world data.
Instead of building a new electric vehicle, the company is using an electrified version of the company’s popular Golf model. The engine and transmission have been replaced with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack housed in the undercarriage.
With top speeds of about 87 miles per hours, the 26.5 kilowatt-hour capacity battery gives the eGolf a range of about 93 miles on a single charge. The tachometer has been replaced with a handy power usage gauge which displays power usage.
It is unknown when production of the eGolf will begin or how much the EV will cost.
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway is a freelance writer from Illinois. While much of her writing focuses on technology, parenting and online safety issues, she has a strong interest in environmental and renewable energy-related issues as well.
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