Volkswagen (VW) Slovakia will begin manufacturing the electric version of the up! A-segment city car in the second-half of the year. The site will become the first site in VW's global production network to manufacture a production EV, according to company spokesperson Vladimir Machalik.
Significance: The VW Slovakia plant was also the first production facility on VW's global network to manufacture a hybrid vehicle – the Touareg hybrid, production of which started in April 2010. However, with the prospects of EVs in the European market under something of a cloud it remains to be seen how many up! EVs will be manufactured or indeed sold. Given the relatively small running costs of the basic petrol (gasoline)-powered up!, the EV version will offer limited benefits to the consumer and will surely appeal to only a relatively small number of buyers, especially if its price is significantly higher than the conventionally powered model.
