It's been a busy day in Wolfsburg as VW followed up the release of a sketch of its upcoming mid-sized sedan with an announcement about new electric drive systems. VW and Toshiba have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on electric drive systems and power electronics. These electric drive systems will be used in battery-powered versions of the New Small Family (NSF) cars. The NSF lineup is made up of the production versions of the up! series of concepts first seen in 2007. VW is planning to build small cars based on this new platform under a number of its different brands around the world. In the press release, CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn, indicated that VW wants to be the first to mass produce affordable electric vehicles on a large scale. In order to get there, VW is working with a number of partners in addition to Toshiba on elements such as lithium ion batteries. VW has not given an indication of when these electric cars may debut, but if they intend to be first, they will have to move fast.


[Source: Volkswagen]

We've seen electric Bugs before, and we're likely to keep seeing them in the future for a variety of reasons. First, the platform is cheap and VeeDub sold so many of the little rear-engined buggers that there are lots of them to be had. Second, the air-cooled drivetrain is dead simple and is contained all in one little place, making conversions a relatively simple affair. Last, but certainly not least, the Beetle's light weight - much of which is due to its unique body-on-pan construction - makes for an excellent platform for an electric car.

The latest such Bug EV is called the Lightning Bug and comes courtesy of an aftermarket golf cart manufacturer from Michigan named Dale King. With the recent business slowdown, King has had enough time to concentrate on the electric vehicle project and has reportedly spent just $13K to create a vehicle that's capable of hitting 70 miles per hour for distances of up to 100 miles. Those are pretty good specs for a conversion, but we're left wondering what kind of motor, batteries or controller are being used. Whatever the case, King would like to begin commercializing the product, so we may know more in time. Thanks for the tip, Steve!

[Source: MLive]

While Volkswagen may be offering their first electric car as early as 2010 and are already imagining their 2028 electric offerings, the company's chief research officer, Juergen Leohold, doesn't see an explosion in the numbers of electro-mobiles on the road any time soon. In fact, by the time 2028 rolls around, he only expects them to make up only 10 per cent of that future fleet. What does he see as the big hold up? Batteries. According to the German boffin, lithium ion batteries may have already come a long way but they still lack in energy density and production capacity. Their current cost is also seen as prohibitively high. To top all that, he doesn't think it will ever top the internal combustion engine when it comes applications like long-haul trucks. Way to buzzkill, dude.

All that is not to say he is not a fan of the technology. Au contraire, mes frères. He expects VW to start off with small city cars, not unlike the Up! pictured above, but then use the electric drivetrain in larger, family size models. He says, "We have an ambition to electrify more than just the really small cars, but also our main model series, the Golf," Ah, that's more like it!

[Source: Deutsche Welle]

As part of the 2007 EV Conversion Workshop, and sponsored by Bucks County Renewables with the help of the Energy Justice Network, Jenny Isaacs has gotten together a group made up mostly of teachers who will be converting a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon from gasoline power to electric. We told you about this way back in March, and now we can follow up that story by directing you over to a site made by Jenny to update everybody on the progress.

The plan is to make this a completely zero-emissions vehicle by offsetting the carbon spent while charging the vehicle by purchasing wind energy. If you would like to check out the vehicle once it has been completed, they plan to show it off at RiverFest, in Frenchtown NJ on Sept 1 - 3 and at the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Festival in Kempton PA, Sept 21 - 23. We certainly wish Jenny and the ten person team the best!

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[Source: Electric Vanagon and Jenny Isaacs]