Volkswagen’s upcoming 2015 Golf GTE — the plug-in hybrid variant of Volkswagen’s iconic Golf hatchback — will go on sale in Europe later this year for €36,900 ($48450), including purchase tax of 19 percent.

Sylvan Lake, AB -- (SBWire) -- 09/02/2014 --That’s according to German website AutoBild, which says the plug-in hybrid 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTE will cost just €2,000 more to buy than the all-electric Volkswagen e-Golf.

The Golf GTE has been priced at €36,900 in its home market of Germany.

Designed on the same flexible Volkswagen MQB platform as the rest of the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf family, the 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTE has been designed with both fuel efficiency and performance in mind. Joining the GTi and GTD petrol and diesel hot hatch performance models, the GTE sports a total power output of 201 horsepower and 258 pounds feet of torque.

That’s enough to accelerate the Golf GTE from 0-62 mph in 7.6 seconds, faster than the all-electric e-Golf and similar to the 0-62 time of the BMW i3 and BMW i3 REX.

With an on-board 8.8 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack and 75 kilowatt electric motor, the Golf GTE has a claimed all-electric range of 50 kilometres (31 miles) on the NEDC test cycle. Real world range is likely nearer to 20 miles for most drivers, but that’s still enough to handle the majority of work commutes for a large number of Europeans. A full recharge takes around 2.25 hours.

In all-electric mode, the GTE operates much the same as its all-electric sibling, offering a range of driving modes designed to give the driver as much control over efficiency as possible. When the battery pack is empty however, the Golf GTE’s 1.4-litre engine kicks in, offering range-extending capabilities and a total range in excess of 600 miles per fill.

With a six-speed DSG transmission, the Golf GTE can also reach a top speed of 138 mph where allowed, making it a practical choice for Europeans who regularly want to travel longer-distance on Germany’s Autobahns but can’t afford an all-electric Tesla Model S.

It’s worth noting that while the Volkswagen e-Golf and Golf GTE will be available across Europe making the Volkswagen Golf the most versatile vehicle brand on sale today in terms of engine choices, the Volkswagen Golf GTE won’t be headed to the U.S.

That’s because Volkswagen is focusing on its all-electric e-Golf in the U.S., with only the Golf GTE’s sibling — the up-market Audi A3 Sportback e-tron — entering the market early next year.

As it happens, we’ll be driving the Golf GTE tomorrow in Zurich, Switzerland as part of its official European launch. Although we got a sneak peak earlier this year, we’ll be using this launch to put the Golf GTE through its paces on a variety of different roads.

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