2017 VW e-Golf with up to 186 miles of range by the end of the year

There’s been some confusion about the imminent upgrade to Volkswagen’s all-electric e-Golf versus its next generation expected to be available by the end of the decade. Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electric Vehicle Development at VW, cleared up some of the confusion this weekend during a press meeting for the Formula E race in Berlin.

The executive confirmed that the 2017 e-Golf will receive a battery upgrade by the end of the year and that it will allow for an NEDC rated range of 300 km (186 miles) on a single charge.

In the past, this kind of range has been associated with the next generation e-Golf, but as ‘real-world range’.

As usual, a quick reminder that the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) is known to be less restrictive than the EPA standard. VW’s new battery pack should end up with an EPA rating closer to 125 miles per charge.

The current e-Golf has an EPA-rated range of 83 miles – so it’s a more than decent upgrade.

The new pack will have a 35.8 kWh capacity – up from 24.2 kWh and even beating BMW’s recent upgrade for the i3 with 33 kWh. The i3’s new top of the line range is now “up to 114 miles”.

Dr. Tanneberger also added that VW will only offer the new pack, unlike Nissan and BMW who kept their old battery packs as less-expensive options for customers. The e-Golf motor will also get a power increase from 100 kW to 120 kW, still according to the exec.