June 2007 - Nr. 6
VW to Offer Hybrid for Every Model
TWIG - Volkswagen is planning to offer a hybrid version for every model starting in about two years, according to German specialized newspapers. A decision has not yet been made on what electric components would be used for which model. But there are plans for both a micro-hybrid system with a battery charged by braking regeneration energy and a full hybrid solution, according to the papers.
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn in recent interviews confirmed that the company was working on a small VW hybrid that could be launched "fairly quickly" onto the market.
As reported by Der Spiegel in mid-March, Winterkorn had made a "surprising announcement" at the time that VW was planning to build hybrid versions of its popular Golf (Rabbit) and Polo (GTI) models. Next year, he added, hybrid versions of the sports utility Audi Q7 and VW Touareg vehicles were due to go to market, a strategy taking both environmental and gas mileage concerns applicable to larger vehicles into consideration.
Major VW shareholder Porsche will work together with Europe's biggest carmaker on creating the hybrids, the Der Spiegel report added. Porsche meanwhile has announced that it will "within this decade" bring a hybrid version of its SUV Cayenne to market.
Other German carmakers are also getting in on the
hybrid act, hitherto largely dominated by Japanese carmakers Honda and
Toyota. In this vein, Mercedes and BMW are jointly working on hybrid
technology for use in future editions of the luxury Mercedes S-Class and BMW
7 models.
Republished with permission from "The Week in Germany"
Links:
Volkswagen International
