VW working on hybrid, EV versions of Golf VII

With the Golf VI launch out of the way, Volkswagen is turning its attention to the next generation. And it's moving with the times, it seems. UK magazine Autocar has reported that the company will be putting both hybrid and full electric power under the upcoming Golf VII's bonnet.

"We're looking at a hybrid version of a compact car for Europe and it will come on the next Golf, and an EV version," R&D head Ulrich Hackenberg told media at the recent Los Angeles motor show.

Details are scarce, but it's rumoured the next generation will be a revolutionary affair, rather than evolutionary as the last couple of generations have been.

It's a mark of the industry's desperation to keep up with political and legislative change that it's coming pretty soon, too -- Auto Express reports the company has it scheduled for release in 2012, reducing the just-released sixth-generation's lifespan to around half that of its predecessors.

The new platform could incorporate a diesel hybrid option, too -- an interpretation of the Up Lite concept's combination of a two-cylinder, 800cc oiler generating 38kW with a 10kW electric motor.

To accommodate the extra bulk -- the Up Lite weighs a tiny 685kg -- it would be upsized to a bigger burner and a 30kW spindle. Hackenberg told Autocar such an arrangement is "easily achievable".

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