Volkswagen to offer every model in hybrid guise.

Volkswagen was a little late to the hybrid game, but the company has ambitious plans to offer a hybrid variant of every model they produce.

Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn revealed that he doesn't believe EV technology is ready for the prime time and is "firmly convinced" plug-in hybrids will be the only viable option for the next ten years.

Winterkorn also went on record to say that range-extended vehicles - like the Chevrolet Volt - make a lot of sense and the company has developed a TT prototype that uses a single-cylinder engine to augment an electric powertrain.

Despite his negatively towards current EV techonlogy, Winterkorn is optimistic about the future as he noted lithium-sulfur batteries have three times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. More importantly, the upcoming lithium-air batteries, due in 2025, could have four to five times the energy density. That's a long way away, but the executive indicated the lithium-air technology could enable an EV to travel up to 800 km (497 miles) on a single charge.

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chewy - 6/16/2011 6:33:16 PM

+1 Boost

The Jetta hybrid should be the next one after the Touareg hybrid.

mini22 - 6/16/2011 7:01:32 PM

+1 Boost

3 things have to happen for hybrids to really become popular.Fairly obvious.
1)The driving range has to be significantly extended.
2)The time to recharge has to be significantly reduced to no more then one hour max.
3)The cost versus gasoline has to be a whole lot smaller.

Those are the major changes that have to take place. The minor changes would be cars that are fun to drive and a mandatory engine noise for safety reasons.

atc98092 - 6/16/2011 8:13:31 PM

+1 Boost

I don't think you meant hybrid. I believe you are referring to pure EVs. Right?

mini22 - 6/17/2011 1:10:31 PM

+1 Boost

Woops-sorry.Yes I did mean EV. But lets look at the hybrids.I guess it depends on which one you buy.C @ D recently compared the Golf TDI to both the Honda CRX and the Toyota Prius. In both comparisions they rated the VW on top. The CRX was almost as fast had alsmost similar #'s for handling but they said it did not feel as good in corners and the VW with it's diesel torque had way more mid range power. Further it got better overall mileage then the CRX. Compared to the Prius it's overall mileage was not quite as good but it was simply more fun to drive and had way better handling. Also had it not been so heavily optined out it would have come in cheaper then the Prius.This is but one example. The Ford Fusion Hybrid starts about 2 1/2 grand more then the new Passat diesel and only gets slightly better mileage in the city then the Passat. However the Passat beats it on the highway.Further with DI,dual clutch trannys,Multi air,sky engine,turbo diesel technology the gasoline engine is still a viable way to get decent gas mileage and probably able to get within 5% of hybrids for a significantly(on average) lower cost. Also they are more satisfying to drive and probably less expensive to fix when your warranty runs out.