2016 Volkswagen e-Golf Gets $4,500 Price Cut

The Volkswagen e-Golf is about to get a lot more competitive with the market-leading Nissan LEAF. The base 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf will be simpler than the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf, and will come in at a price $4,500 lower than then 2015 base price.

The 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf SE will have an MSRP of $29,815 (including destination charges) before any federal, state, or local incentives, such as the $7,500 US federal tax credit for electric cars and the $2,500 California rebate for electric cars.

This will make the base VW e-Golf the 5th-cheapest electric car on the US market, just pennies more expensive than the Nissan LEAF.

The LEAF is, of course, the affordable electric car to beat, so pricing the e-Golf right around the same price as the LEAF seems like a logical move (assuming it’s not easier to offer a competitive product much cheaper than the LEAF).

The Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium will have a base price of $36,415. The SE option won’t include the 7.2-kilowatt AC onboard charger and DC fast-charging capabilities that are standard with the SEL. In place of the 7.2-kilowatt AC onboard charger, the SE will get a 3.6-kilowatt AC onboard charger. It also will have a 6.5-inch display rather than an 8-inch display. Lastly (I think), SE owners won’t be able to purchase the Driver Assist package, which includes forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and parking assist.

The motor will still be rated at 85 kW (115 horsepower) and 199 lb-feet of torque. The e-Golf will also have the same 24.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and the EPA range rating will reportedly remain 83 miles (134 kilometers).

The 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf will hit the markets where the e-Golf is sold (10 states on the West Coast and in the Northeast) in September 2015.

The $36,415 price of the Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium still puts it quite a bit cheaper than the base BMW i3 or Mercedes B-Class Electric, but above the Kia Soul EV and Chevy Volt.

What do you think of the competitiveness of the new Volkswagen e-Golf SE and Volkswagen e-Golf SEL Premium?