PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Volkswagen to electrify Down Under

Volkswagen is likely to offer its first electrified model in Australia by 2020, followed early next decade by an all-electric model based on the stunning I.D. concept revealed at today's Paris motor show.

Volkswagen says the I.D. is about the same size as a Golf outside but as big as a Passat inside, and will deliver a zero-emissions driving range of up to 600km. Most importantly, when he presented the concept at Paris, Volkswagen's new chairman Dr Herbert Diess said that when the production I.D. goes on sale in 2020, it will cost about the same as a diesel Golf.

Unless somebody beats VW to the punch, that means I.D. will break new ground for an electric car in terms of both price (circa $35K) and driving range. Nissan's LEAF currently sets the former benchmark at $39,990, but can only travel around 250km between charges.

The I.D. was the centrepiece of Volkswagen's Paris show presentation, from which the facelifted Golf '7.5' was pulled to focus on its electrification strategy.

Amid continuing fallout from its #Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal, Volkswagen has promised to deliver a million battery-electric cars annually by 2025. At that time it hopes to be the global EV leader.

Volkswagen currently sells no hybrid or electric models in Australia but, speaking to motoring.com.au in Paris today, Volkswagen Group Australia product marketing manager Jeff Shafer said the German car-maker's 'EV for the people' would make sense Down Under.

"I think it is a really exciting concept and if we can bring that technology in at that price then I think we can make a strong case for it being marketable and having a high uptake in Australia," he saod.

"And we will consider that as part of the strategy moving forward. It is clearly one of the group's strategies to move more into electrification and I think in Australia the key question is not if but when.

"It's a matter of when we bring this key technology to Australia it is at the right point in time – making sure it is practical, affordable and useable for everyone. The ID certainly ticks those boxes so we will be looking at it for sure."

Chairman Diess not only described the five-seat I.D., which incorporates wireless inductive charging, a fold-away steering wheel and rear sliding doors, as an affordable EV, but "a real first car for everyday use" and "the first Volkswagen ready for automated driving".

To be sold alongside the next-generation Golf Mk8 from 2020, the I.D. concept is based on Volkswagen’s all-new dedicated EV architecture, dubbed Modular Electric Drive (MEB). It's powered by a 125kW motor fed by a lithium-ion battery offering between 400-600km on a single full charge, depending on the size of the battery pack purchased.

"I think you can make a strong case that an EV with 600km of range is a viable product on its own," said Shafer. "With that sort of range, you get over the fact that an EV is a second car and could transition into being a primary car."

Before I.D., two Golf-based electrified models could come to Australian Volkswagen showrooms.

Shafer said the sporty Golf GTE plug-in hybrid (the concept version of which is pictured) and the pure-electric e-Golf were both under consideration for local release before the current Golf 7 was replaced prior to 2020.

"The e-Golf and Golf GTE can be accessed in the short-term, before I.D. It would be possible in this generation [of Golf]," he said, adding that both models could be sold side-by-side here.

"It's about making a case for them. The e-Golf and Golf GTE play different roles. GTE is exciting, e-Golf is more about efficiency," he said.

Asked if that meant we'd see both the e-Golf and Golf GTE in local showrooms by 2020, Shafer stated: "I wouldn't rule out that approach".

"We have some great technology at the moment and I think it is a matter of educating the market on the benefits of both; what is the range and what is the premium over a petrol model and why it makes sense. There are a lot of companies that have tried it before and not always been successful with EVs in Australia, so we will look at all that and we will take some of those learnings on board as we evaluate the right moves.

"It's definitely under investigation."