Chris Woodyard

USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — As the competition for electric cars heats up, Volkswagen is presented a new, longer-range version of its e-Golf at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The range has been boosted almost 50% — from 83 miles a charge in the current version to 124 miles in new one. But it still pales next to Chevrolet's Bolt, which is about to go on sale with a rating at 238 miles a charge, or Teslas, which can go up to about 300 miles a charge.

Volkswagen, like other automakers, must offer electric or non-polluting cars as a requirement to sell vehicles in a handful of states with strict pollution laws, including California. For most automakers, the solution has been to outfit an existing compact or subcompact car with batteries to create an electric with acceptable, but not breakthrough, range.

The e-Golf, however, comes as Volkswagen has indicated it is going to make a big push in electric cars, a change of direction that comes in the wake of its diesel-emissions scandal. So e-Golf is suddenly at the forefront of the effort.

VW says it was able to boost the range of the new e-Golf by putting in a more capable battery. It also has installed an on-board charger on cars at the higher trim level that can recharge the battery in six hours, or provide an 80% charge in as little as an hour at a DC fast-charging station.

The car will also be more powerful. It now has an electric motor that generates 134 horsepower, which is 19 horsepower more than the first version of the e-Golf, VW says. Torque is better as well. As a result, the new e-Golf will go from zero to 60 miles an hour in 9.6 seconds, a second faster than the original model. Top speed is now 93 miles per hour.

The e-Golf, like other Golfs, will get gesture control for its infotainment system — the ability to change radio volume or perform other functions with the wave of a hand or a finger in the air. Previously, the feature was only found on much more expensive luxury cars, like BMW's 7 Series.

More from the Los Angeles Auto Show:

What we've seen so far at the L.A. Auto Show

Mercedes-Maybach's S650 Cabriolet doesn't mess around

Alfa Romeo rolls out its first SUV

Honda adds power, jazzes up Civic to create Si version

Chevrolet Bolt EV named Green Car of the Year