Volkswagen has unveiled a new version of its battery-powered e-Golf at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new car offers a boost in driving range of about 50 per cent.

Annual average driving range has increased by around 50 per cent to around 200 kilometres (roughly 120 miles) or more in everyday driving; driving range in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) is up to 300 kilometres (about 180 miles); the “estimated real-world driving range” in the USA is 125 miles (EPA).

Compared to its predecessor, the new vehicle offers more power, longer range and more features (fully digital instruments and world’s first electric car with gesture control).

Volkswagen says the new e-Golf is especially well suited for the daily drives of commuters: the preferred terrain of the new zero-emission Golf is said to include metropolitan areas – like Los Angeles,Silicon Valley and Paris – and densely populated countries like the Netherlands and Germany.

In the e-Golf of the 2017 model year, Volkswagen is employing a new lithium-ion battery whose energy capacity has been increased from 24.2 kWh to 35.8 kWh.The battery can be charged to 80 per cent capacity within an hour at a CCS charging station (DC, 40 kW). When charged overnight or during the work day from a wallbox (AC,7.2 kW), the battery is ready to go again with 100 per cent capacity in less than six hours. The electric motor now develops 100 kW, which is 15 kW more power than the first version of the e-Golf. At the same time, the maximum torque of the electric motor has been boosted from 199 ft lb to 214 ft lb.

Greater efficiency. In the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), the combined fuel consumption of the e-Golf is 12.7 kWh/100 km with zero local emissions; in the USA the car’s fuel economy is 116 MPGe (EPA). Thus, the energy consumption of the previous model has remained constant despite the increases in power and weight (due to improved battery capacity) in the new e-Golf.

Volkswagen has also improved the performance of the e-Golf in the 2017 model year. The four-door zero-emission car now handles the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.6 seconds (previously:10.4 seconds), and its top speed has been increased 10 km/h (6 mph) to 150 km/h (93 mph).

Volkswagen recently announced a significant update of the Golf in Europe. All relevant new features are also implemented in this latest version of the e-Golf. They include modified front and rear designs with newly conceptualised full-LED headlights and full-LED tail lights.

Another new feature of the e-Golf is the standard Active Info Display (digital instruments). This Volkswagen is also the world’s first electric car to launch with an infotainment system that can be operated by gesture control; the new “Discover Pro” is also included as standard.

The standard “Discover Pro” has a large 9.2- inch glass display with a completely new design. For the first time the system can be operated by gesture control or by the usual touch operation or voice control. Gesture control works in a wide variety of menus.

Another change: Volkswagen will now produce the e-Golf at its Transparent Factory facility in Dresden as well as at its main base at Wolfsburg. The company says it will be investing more than €20 million in the development of the Transparent Factory into a “Centre of Future Mobility”.

Production in Dresden is set to start at the beginning of April 2017– initially in single-shift operation.