This summer, wants to VW, the electric-Offensive with the ID.3. With him group boss Herbert Diess will lead the Wolfsburg-based car maker to the promised Stromer-country. However, Volkswagen is not only on pure electric cars. Equally important in the electric-strategy Plug-in Hybrid models.

this year Alone, VW wants to bring next to the Passat Variant GTE six other PHEV vehicles on the market, including the Golf e-Hybrid with probably 204 HP (150 kW) and the more powerful the Golf GTE, with the 244 HP (180 kW). In addition, the Arteon and the Arteon Shooting Brake will be electrified. Well possible that these two models are also offered in various performance levels. In the case of the SUVs, the Touareg R PHEV and the Tiguan PHEV to come.

more popular

In Germany, the proportion of GTEs for the Passat has risen in a year from three to 15 percent, and in Switzerland, the proportion with the Revision of the Passat has risen in the last year of a rather small share to around ten percent. The power of the VW-strategists courage that the Plug-enforce in-Hybrid in the other series. In addition, the GTE can travel to customers most of the time purely on electric power. The Passat offers 54 km of range, while the VW customer puts back an average of only 42 km per day.

With bacon one catches mice

For Switzerland, even more importantly, The GTE models are supposed to be, such as, for example, the Touareg Hybrid R with 462 HP (340 kW), the most powerful engine in the range. In Switzerland in particular, is often the strongest drive is sold. Porsche achieved with this strategy has a good Plug-in-Hybrid-sales of Panamera and Cayenne. And the more plug-sold cars, the better the fleet fuel consumption and the lower any penalties. The Volkswagen group is confident of a CO2-buses completely miss it.

The borders of the Plug-in technology

VW has developed a very compact parallel hybrid module. The electric motor, separating clutch and dual-clutch transmission located in a housing, and therefore, it can be longitudinal and transverse mounted engines use. The modular Toolkit for cross-mounted engines (MQB), however, has its limits. Therefore, not all VW models as the Plug for the time being, be-in-Hybrid-available: “The PHEV technology requires a minimum of installation space, therefore, the Gulf is the limit”, Plug-in, project Manager at Kai Philipp clear.

also limits the electric driving range. This is not likely to be in the near term dramatically larger, because the space for a larger battery is available. More coverage can only be achieved by a higher energy density of the battery, better battery cells, more efficient electric motors and better Software. But in the case of the energy density, with the manufacturer recently a lot of new range, were able to win, flattens the optimization curve.

How about the Diesel-Hybrid?

VW will initially combine gasoline engines with electric motors. The costs for the exhaust-gas treatment would add to those for the Plug-in hybrid technology, and Diesel-Hybrids are very expensive to make. With more pieces, the prices would drop. But the cars would have to be sold in China, but their customers rely almost exclusively on gasoline.

But the internal combustion engine is actually beside the point. Because in the end, finally the Plug-in-Hybrid VW a pedagogical task: you are to make the customers E-mobility in a tasty, and for the first Time electric drive. To arouse the desire for more.