FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: VW e-up! unlikely for Oz

Volkswagen's goal to become the world's leading electric vehicle brand by 2018 was given a face at the 65th Frankfurt motor show this week, in the form of the e-Golf and e-up! EVs.

But while both cars claim class-leading electrical efficiency, they are looking increasingly unlikely to come to Australia due to the lack of public EV charging infrastructure and the long distances between our relatively sparsely populated capital cities, to which the limited battery range of EVs is not suited.

"We have not finalised the plan for which countries we will go into," said Dr Heinz Jakob Neusser, Head of Powertrain Development at the Volkswagen Group, when asked if the cars are headed to Australia.

“It also depends on the infrastructure you have there [in Australia] -- recharging stations and so forth. It depends on the market and the customer's situation.

"But we are planning to bring these cars to export markets," he said, confirming the e-up! is being built in right-hand drive for Japanese and UK customers.

Dr Neusser's comments reflect those of VW Australia, which contends the EV market isn't big enough to warrant bringing the cars here at present.

As well as the e-Golf, e-up! and e-load up!, a commercial van version of the e-up!, Volkswagen used this year’s Frankfurt show to reveal new fuel-sipping BlueMotion diesel versions of its latest Caddy van and Golf hatch.

However, even these are unlikely to be sold in Australia and Volkswagen says it has no plans to introduce other BlueMotion versions of models including the Polo.

Nevertheless, Volkswagen is pushing the e-up! as a game-changer, Neusser comparing the city runabout to the original VW Beetle -- an affordable, efficient car for the masses.

The e-up! can travel up to 180km per charge, says Neusser, a trip that cost roughly $7.20 (5 Euros) in Germany.

Volkswagen currently sells a 1.0-litre petrol-powered (55kW/95Nm) up! in Australia priced from $13,990. It's only available with a manual transmission, something the e-up! remedies.

The tiny EV features an automatic gearshifter and has much better performance too, its 60kW/210Nm electric motor giving the car forceful acceleration and a top speed of 130km/h.

The more powerful e-Golf outputs 85kW/270Nm and has a range of 190km. It can reach a maximum speed of 140km/h.

We had a short drive in the e-up! prior to the car’s public debut at Frankfurt and it's a fast and fun car that loses none of the practicality or charm of its petrol-powered sibling.

But as Neusser reiterated, it's far from a slam dunk for Australia, where EV sales remain slow despite the ability of plug-in hybrids like Holden's Volt to travel an extra 500km or so after its battery runs out.

If Volkswagen priced the e-up! at around $25,000, would you consider buying one? Let us know in the comments section below.

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