Volkswagen Upgrading Battery Pack Sizes Of Several Electric Models In 2017
Battery pack upgrades are coming to some of Volkswagen’s plug-in electric models in early 2017, going by comments made recently by Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller.
He also stated, “We are now bringing in January a Golf with a genuine range of 300 kilometers to the market.” The CEO also revealed that the new version of the e-Up! would have a range of around 200 kilometers per full charge.
These figures of course relate to the very generous New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), and real -world ranges will be notably lower.
To date, Volkswagen has been utilizing 25 Ah Panasonic/Sanyo battery cells for the majority of its plug-in vehicles, with notable exceptions being the Volkswagen Passat GTE and Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid (28 Ah battery cells).
As noted by Push EVs: “In 2014, Volkswagen’s plan was to release minor battery upgrades every year until they reached the 36 Ah cells, even with 37 Ah cells already available. This way they would force electric car owners to change their cars every year if they wanted to get more range. A well thought planned obsolescence strategy. Now Volkswagen is forced to jump right into 37 Ah cells by the increased competition, especially with the recent release of the BMW i3 with more range.”
With that in mind, the Push EVs coverage then extended into a nice overview of what can be expected (with regard to Volkswagen Group’s plug-in lineup) with upgrades to 37 Ah battery cells (using 3.7 V as the cell’s nominal voltage).
Here’s that overview:
- Volkswagen e-Golf: 264 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 36.14 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 190 km to 281 km. But the e-Golf is getting a more powerful and probably more efficient motor. Volkswagen will push the NEDC range to 300 km. - Volkswagen e-up: 204 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 27.93 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 160 km to 236 km. - Volkswagen Golf GTE: 96 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 13.14 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 50 km to 74 km. - Volkswagen Passat GTE: 96 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 13.14 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 50 km to 66 km. - Audi A3 e-tron: 96 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 13.14 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 50 km to 74 km. - Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: 104 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 14.24 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 36 km to 47 km. - Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid: 104 x 37 Ah x 3.7 V = 14.24 kWh
Theoretically the NEDC electric range should be increased from 36 km to 54 km.
Going by these figures, it certainly appears that Volkswagen still isn’t taking the plug-in market all that seriously, despite the constant press releases claiming just that.
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