"Volkswagen Says It Will Likely Sell Larger Version of E-Up! Electric Vehicle in U.S." Green Car Advisor

Volkswagen Says It Will Likely Sell Larger Version of E-Up! Electric Vehicle in U.S.

One week after Volkswagen made a splash at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the world debut of its E-Up! electric vehicle (pictured), the German automaker has announced that it will likely sell a larger version of the cute compact in the U.S.

"The reason we are working on an electric vehicle is the American market," Ulrich Hackenberg, board member in charge of product development at Volkswagen AG, said today.

Hackenberg said a production version of the plug-in battery-electric zero-emissions E-Up! will go on sale in Europe in 2013. He said U.S. sales would start later.

The E-Up! is based on VW's new modular small-car family, scheduled to debut in 2011. The four-seat E-Up!, which measures 125 inches long (or 19 inches longer than the tiny Smart ForTwo), has a range of up to 80 miles on lithium-ion battery power.

For the United States, Hackenberg said, he envisions a front-drive model about 146 inches long (the 2009 MINI Cooper is 145.6 inches long). Electric versions of the Smart ForTwo and MINI Cooper are planned for the U.S.

VW will launch its first hybrid vehicle next year -- a version of the Touareg SUV. Hackenberg said the Touareg hybrid will debut at the 2010 Detroit auto show in January.

To date, very few details have been released regarding this vehicle.