Classic Volkswagen - Mentor, OH

BERLIN — Volkswagen says it will put an all-electric Golf into its lineup as part of the seventh generation of the hardy perennial, coming out in 2013. The Golf Blue e-motion in concept form was rolled out in front of dignitaries including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, this week at a summit meeting on electric vehicles.

As a preview to large-scale production, VW says it will put a test fleet of 500 Golf EVs on roads next year, in large part to test and perfect the energy storage modules and drivetrain.

The production Golf Blue e-motion will have a 113-horsepower electric motor that makes 199 pound-feet of torque "right from a stop" and a 26.5-kw lithium-ion battery. The electric Golf will have an 87-mph top speed and a 93-mile driving range.

VW's plan for 2013 is to bring out the Up Blue e-motion city car first, followed by a Golf Blue e-motion and a Jetta Blue e-motion. At the same time, the automaker will launch the Lavida Blue e-motion in China. In hybrid plans, VW will bring out a hybrid Jetta in 2012 and Golf and Passat hybrids in 2013.

Volkswagen showed a concept zero-emissions Berlin Taxi that it said could become a "highly coveted" product in Berlin, New York, Beijing, London, Moscow and other major cities. The taxi is still a "pure concept," VW emphasized.

VW also called for a "national platform for electric mobility" at the summit, saying the German auto industry should focus on bringing out zero-emission vehicles and getting an infrastructure in place to support their use. The German government has said it wants to see a million EVs on German roads by 2020.

Volkswagen has stated an ambitious goal: "To use bestsellers such as the Golf to take electric vehicles out of their niche-model status and become the market leader for a new type of sustainable mobility by 2018."