Electrifying mobility

Volkswagen Group South Africa has launched an e-Golf pilot project, which will see six fully electric vehicles being tested by motoring and lifestyle media, selected dealers, as well as Volkswagen employees.

“At Volkswagen, we want to democratise electric mobility and that is why the e-Golf pilot project is a key initiative for the brand,” says Mike Glendinning, sales and marketing director for Volkswagen Group South Africa. “With the help of our dealers, we want to get as many South Africans as possible to drive and experience an electric vehicle, as this is the future of our brand.”

Charging infrastructure is installed in Volkswagen’s Uitenhage manufacturing plant and the Dealer Training Academy in Centurion, Gauteng.

The e-Golf pilot project is the first step of a three-phase approach that will pave the way for Volkswagen to include electric vehicles in its future product portfolio in South Africa. The second phase will be expanded to include a fleet of fully electric Volkswagen ID.3 vehicles from 2021.

The third and last phase of the electric mobility project will see the first fully electric Volkswagen vehicles available for sale to customers in South Africa from 2022.

The e-Golf and the ID.3 will not be available for sale in South Africa at this time; they will be used solely to give as many South Africans as possible the opportunity to experience life with an electric vehicle.