Volkswagen announced today that its brand has become “Friend” of the recently reopened National Museum of China. As part of this sponsorship Volkswagen will launch its first electric vehicle fleet in Beijing. The fleet of Golf Blue-e-motion and Touareg Hybrid vehicles will run as a free shuttle service - named “Museum Hopping” - between the National Museum, the Palace Museum and the National Art Museum.
Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said: “As a long-term partner in the Chinese automotive industry it is a special honour for Volkswagen to make a contribution to the National Museum of China, which shows the nation´s long historical and artistic tradition. In providing our first E-Fleet to the museum in Beijing we also want to show our strong engagement with the Chinese society.” Volkswagen China has done a lot for the development of China, from supporting green education in schools to special road safety programmes. Between 2010 and 2015, Volkswagen will invest 10.6 billion Euros in China.“ The first E-fleet for the National Museum in Beijing shows our particular commitment to sustainable mobility in China”, said Neumann. The “Museum Hopping” service is Volkswagen’s brand first step in promoting its electric vehicle fleet worldwide. China plays an important role for Volkswagen´s goal to become the leader in the global electric vehicle market by 2018. The country is Volkswagen`s largest market with sales in 2010 of 1.9 million vehicles. The pilot fleet lets consumers experience E-vehicles first hand. From early April to mid-August 2011 the Volkswagen “Museum Hopping” fleet will provide a free transfer of about 12 kilometers from 9:30am to 5:00pm daily. The fleet departs from the east gate of the National Museum.
Source : VW AG
The National Museum of China is the largest comprehensive history museum in China. It is located on the east side of Tian'an Men Square in Beijing. The museum was closed for 3 years for renovation and expansion works and was only reopened on 1-April 2011. VW will provide 3 Golf blue-e-motions and 10 Touareg hybrids as free shuttle vehicle services along the 12km route that spans from the National Museum, the Palace Museum of the Forbidden City, to the National Art Museum. The EV Golf blue-e-motion is not available for sale but the Touareg hybrid has just been launched this month in China and retails for CNY 1.1 million.
The Golf-blue-e-motion is powered by lithium-ion batteries and have a top speed of 135km/h, 0-100km/h in 11.5 seconds and a range of 150km. The last bit of course is highly dependent on driving style and the vehicle's electrical load. Charging time is around 6 hours on a 220-Volt power supply. VW intends to launch the car by 2014 in Europe. A total of 250 Golf-blue-e-motion will begin real world fleet trial by May 2011 in major markets of Europe, USA and Asia.
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