Cheating Pollution Company Decides to make poor selling old car electric

[SabrToothSqrl]

https://jalopnik.com/the-next-volkswagen-beetle-could-go-electric-and-rear-w-1820371742

Hey, I know! How can we "prove" electric cars don't sell? Other than designing cars that look like they need special assistance just to park? Or something more at home on a golf course than a highway?

I got it!

Let's take a poorly selling car... and make it electric! Then, when people don't buy it, we can keep selling polluting cars!
yay! everyone wins!!!

 

[cwerdna]

To go slightly OT, at Tokyo Motor Show recently, I saw what's apparently the next gen e-Golf (had a digital LCD dashboard instead of dials w/needles). They put the J1772 inlet in the right place, in the nose of the car, under the VW logo. You push on the logo to open/close the door.

AND, for the Japanese market, they put on a CHAdeMO inlet on the rear fender. Remember, VW is one of the supporters/"backers" of Frankenplug aka CCS.

On the US version of the e-Golf that's been shipping for a few years, they went w/optional Frankenplug (SAE Combo) and J1772 inlet under a flap on the rear fender.

 

[jelloslug]

To go slightly OT, at Tokyo Motor Show recently, I saw what's apparently the next gen e-Golf (had a digital LCD dashboard instead of dials w/needles). They put the J1772 inlet in the right place, in the nose of the car, under the VW logo. You push on the logo to open/close the door.

AND, for the Japanese market, they put on a CHAdeMO inlet on the rear fender. Remember, VW is one of the supporters/"backers" of Frankenplug aka CCS.

On the US version of the e-Golf that's been shipping for a few years, they went w/optional Frankenplug (SAE Combo) and J1772 inlet under a flap on the rear fender.

In Japan, the i3 has a CHAdeMO plug also rather than the CCS.

 

[cwerdna]

In Japan, the i3 has a CHAdeMO plug also rather than the CCS.

Yep.

So, the e-Golf had to "pull an i3": support 3 different DC FC plugs depending on the region: Combo1 (aka SAE Combo), Combo2 (European CCS flavor) and CHAdeMO for Japan.

The funny thing about the Japanese-market i3 is that the J1772 inlet is in the frunk. The CHAdeMO inlet on the rear fender takes the place of the J1772 inlet.

 

[wws]

To go slightly OT, at Tokyo Motor Show recently, I saw what's apparently the next gen e-Golf (had a digital LCD dashboard instead of dials w/needles). They put the J1772 inlet in the right place, in the nose of the car, under the VW logo. You push on the logo to open/close the door.

AND, for the Japanese market, they put on a CHAdeMO inlet on the rear fender. Remember, VW is one of the supporters/"backers" of Frankenplug aka CCS...

Did the Japanese show car have _both_ CCS and CHAdeMO - i.e., dual DC charge standard?

 

[Laserbrain]

Let's take a poorly selling car... and make it electric!

Poorly selling? They sold 21.5 millions of the beetle.

They are not converting an existing car to electric, it will be based on the new "Modularer Elektrifizierungsbaukasten (MEB)" platform (like the ID and ID Buzz) which will be the base for 50 different purely electric models until 2025 (not counting hybrids).

Of course it will come with CCS charger. It is the standard in Europe and from 2018 to 2020 a 350 kW CCS charger network will be build along the european highways with - IIRC - more charge points (in 2020) than Tesla's supercharger currently have.

TL;DR: Pride comes before a fall.

 

[cwerdna]

Did the Japanese show car have _both_ CCS and CHAdeMO - i.e., dual DC charge standard?

It did NOT have CCS at all (neither Combo1 nor Combo2). It only had J1772 for AC charging under the round VW logo in the nose and CHAdeMO under a flap on the rear fender.

 

[Boourns]

If they actually make that EV microbus, I'd be pretty tempted.