VW e-Golf will get 30% range boost thanks to improved batteries

Volkswagen will give the e-Golf nearly 30 percent more range thanks to an upcoming improvement from the German automaker's batteries. Volkmar Tanneberger, the company's head of electronic development, says the battery cells in the e-Golf will grow to 37 amp hours from 28 amp hours currently, and this jump allows for the improvement without any physical changes to the battery design.

"It's the same package but just with the next generation of cells," Tanneberger told Autoblog during a roundtable discussion at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. He didn't indicate specifically when VW will introduce the update.

The current e-Golf has an EPA-estimated range of 83 miles, so the extra 30 percent would push it to about 108 miles. If the company can make these gains, the electric hatchback could be more of a challenger to the latest Nissan Leaf with its 30-kWH battery that has a 107-mile range in the US.

VW also showed off gesture-based infotainment controls on the e-Golf at CES. The company pairs it with the latest version of the MIB system that has a high-res screen and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. If you don't want to wave your hand around the car, the system has better voice recognition, too. The concept at CES also features wireless charging in the rear armrests to let passengers in the back top up their devices.