Volkswagen to Produce Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars in 2010
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Mercedes will produce electric cars, comes the news that fellow German manufacturer Volkswagen plans to produce a test fleet of plug-in hybrid electric cars by 2010.
A few months ago, to much excitement from the automotive press, the company unveiled a diesel-electric Golf but, according to VW chief Martin Winterkorn, “the future belongs to electric cars.” To help in mapping out the road to this electric future, the company have unveiled a plug-in hybrid powertrain, called the Twin-Drive, which will make its first appearance in a Golf kitted out with a 122-horsepower diesel engine, twinned with an 82-horsepower electric motor.
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A key difference between the VW approach and typical hybrids is that instead of the battery providing supplemental power to the combustion engine, the Twin-Drive will work the other way around. According to Winterkorn, “here the diesel or gasoline engine supplements the e-motor.”
The car will use lithium-ion batteries and have a range of 31 miles on purely electric power. Over the last few months, Volkswagen has invested heavily in li-ion battery technology. In addition to teaming up with Sanyo in a $769 million dollar development project, the company has also formed the Lithium-Ion Battery 2015 Alliance (LIB2015) with Bosch, BASF, Evonik and others, backed up by a €60 million investment from the German government.
Volkwagen says it will have a test-fleet of twenty Twin-Drive Golf’s on the road in 2010, but there is still no news on plans to ramp-up commercial production. Given the level of investment being ploughed into the technology, I have a hunch that such an announcement won’t be too long in coming.
Posts Related to Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles:
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- Snapshot of Battery Technology for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Cars
- Chevy Volt’s Lithium-Ion Batteries Road Tested By Month’s End
- Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants by 2030 (Or None At All)
- Google to Spend $10 Million on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Project
Image credits - Volkswagen
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Teutonic ingenuity at work again! Full marks to V.W for taking this route.
While the concept is admirable and should attract large numbers of Eco warriors anxious to play their part in the Save Planet Earth Campaign I am just wondering what the eventual cost of this vehicle might be on the forecourt?
Will it far exceed the current cost of say a Turbo Diesel Golf or Polo which currently attracts quite a hefty premium over a standard Petrol model.
Can anyone throw any light on the function of the second coolant reservoir visible in the under the bonnet picture?
[...] VW to Make Plug-In Hybrid EVs in 2010 Hot on the heels of news that Mercedes will produce electric cars, fellow German manufacturer Volkswagen announces plans to produce a test fleet of plug-in hybrid electric cars by 2010. Volkswagen to Produce Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars in 2010 : Gas 2.0 [...]
so let me get his straight:
one average human = 80 kg(?)
one average car (electric, hybrid, whatnot) > 1000 kg?
you know…”it’s not just the drive-train, dummy(tm)”
I wonder who will be first to market, VW or GM?
http://blog.buyingadvice.com/2007/10/gm-comes-around.html
I can turn my farts into propane that can power my car through the driver’s seat.
Hey, that email address for the water-to-wine device isn’t working; do you have an alternate address?
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