Volkswagen Up! Set For August Debut In Paris: Report

Volkswagen will reportedly unveil the production version of its Up! city car at a stand-alone event in Paris next month, ahead of its scheduled appearance at September's Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Up! will compete with Toyota's tiny iQ and is expected to hit the European market in three-door form later this year.

A five-door version is slated to appear toward the end of 2012, and a taller compact-MPV version is reportedly in development.

In concept form, the Up! has been shown with a front-mounted all-electric powertrain, producing 60kW and 210Nm of torque and drawing energy from a lithium-ion battery pack.

For now, the sub-Polo Up! is expected to be offered with ultra-efficient 1.0 litre petrol and 1.2 litre diesel engines. The all-electric E-Up! is expected to arrive sometime in 2013.

The city-car segment has yet to take off in Australia, and it remains unclear whether the Up! will make its way to our shores. With the likes of BMW's i3 and a Lotus city car heading to international markets, it may be only a matter of time.