Electric VW Golf coming in 2013
Customers will be able to get their hands on an electric version of the Volkswagen Golf, Europe's most popular car, from next year, the German automaker has confirmed.
Volkswagen has been slow to get into the electric car game, lagging behind rivals such as Nissan and Ford when it comes to releasing EVs, but now it seems that the manufacturer will finally put a battery-powered version of the Golf into production -- slightly earlier than planned.
The Volkswagen Golf Blue e-motion will hit markets late next year, Volkswagen confirmed in comments reported this week, in both the US and Europe.
The firm's US boss reportedly told Automotive News that "sometimes it's good to be a little more steady in terms to the approach to the market," referring to the schedule for electrification.
VW's compatriots Daimler and BMW have been more proactive in testing and developing electric vehicle concepts through their subsidiary urban brands, Smart and Mini respectively.
Although it's been a long time coming, the prospect of an all-electric Golf could be a game-changer for the automotive industry -- an electric version of such a popular car would likely dramatically increase the visibility of electric vehicles in general.
According to Jato Dynamics, the Golf is Europe's best-selling vehicle by a long way, shifting 484,547 models on the continent last year, a slight drop on the year before but still far ahead of the 356,490 Volkswagen Polos sold.
