This concept called the Volkswagen Golf blue-e-motion is powered by an electric motor producing 85 kW, which is about 115 PS. Torque is 270Nm across the entire rev range starting from zero revs, and top speed is around 140km/h (due to it having only 1 ratio) which is more than enough for regular driving. And yes, there’s not a single drop of fuel burned in this vehicle – it’s not a hybrid, but a pure electric vehicle.

500 units of the car will be manufactured next year for testing purposes, and full fledged production will happen in 2013 when the car will be launched together with the Jetta blue-e-motion and the Chinese market Lavida blue-e-motion. Volkswagen’s bet is to use bestseller bodies such as the Golf to launch its electric cars as they are already very familiar to consumers, which seems to be a completely different (but perhaps better) strategy from other manufacturers which are going for exclusively hybrid or exclusively electric bodies, such as the Leaf.

“Future electric cars give us enormous opportunities for reshaping mobility to be even more sustainable. When it comes to the environment, however, we must ensure that the energy used to operate these electric cars is produced from renewable sources. Since automotive manufacturers do not have any influence on the types of power plants that are built, the federal government must ensure that eco-friendly energy sources are utilised. Only then will we experience a genuine transition to a new era,” says Dr Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen’s chairman.