Volkswagen announces the launch of electric Golf, a new electric car with 200km range

Volkswagen has announced that the latest-generation plug-in electric Golf will come with an EPA-estimated range of 125 miles (200km) when it goes on sale in the US this spring. That’s a 50% improvement on the outgoing model yet as well as going further, the new Golf should be able to get there more quickly thanks to a revised electric motor that offers 134hp (up from 115hp in the old model). Despite a more potent motor, the car can go further on a single charge because of improved and more efficient battery chemistry. And even though 125 miles is still some way off the range of a Chevrolet Bolt or a Tesla, Volkswagen’s latest car will come with a 7.2 kW onboard charger as standard in higher trim specification models and this will allow the battery to recharge completely in under six hours at a 240-volt charging station. With the optional DC charger the car can top up its batteries by 80% in under an hour at a DC fast-charging station. This comes right after a Volkswagen managing director in UK informed lawmakers that the company has fixed 470,000 cars out of 1.2 million affected by the diesel emissions scandal in Britain. With inputs from AFP