Volkswagen is pushing for World and Global Rallycross Championship regulations to be developed for all-electric supercars, as a way to show off the advancing capability of the technology.

The company currently competes in rallycross with factory-developed Beetles powered by four-cylinder, 1.6-litre engines producing around 550bhp.

However, the firm’s head of technology, Franck Welsch, revealed that he was keen to see race organisers adopt an all-electric format, either alongside the top category or in place of it.

Extreme 560bhp Volkswagen Beetle Rallycross car

“I can certainly imagine a championship done with all-electric cars,” he said. “The races are around six minutes long, which allows for short, intense bursts of competition and then charging.

“Today these cars are super-powerful, have torque from hell and use all-wheel drive. Electric drivetrains could deliver that.

“If the championship moved that way it would be perfect for us. We are already in discussions with organisers to that effect.”

Welsch also confirmed that VW will continue in the World Rally Championship for at least the next “two to three years”, with an all-new Polo launching to meet the new regulations in 2017. “We like being three-time champions very much, and hope to add to that even when the competition intensifies in the coming years [with the arrival of Toyota and a newly-developed Citroen].”