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We know that diesel vehicles are efficient and typically have a long service life, allowing for several years of use while maintaining excellent overall mileage. Today we can see that the newly designed diesel engines run cleaner and more efficiently than ever before. The same is true for hybrid technology as we see vehicles becoming more efficient and with longer lasting batteries we get more life out of hybrid battery packs. In fact, battery packs are becoming so durable that companies like Hyundai are giving a lifetime warranty on their hybrid vehicle’s battery packs. So it’s only a matter of time before someone tries to combine a diesel and a hybrid engine, thus creating a highly efficient vehicle.
At the Geneva Motor Show in 2012, Volkswagen unveiled its off-road concept vehicle that used a hybrid diesel powertrain. The vehicle had a 1.8 liter turbocharged diesel engine coupled to an electric assist motor, and together the Volkswagen achieves up to 131 miles per gallon. They also claim that a 4,000-pound vehicle can go from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. These results are quite stunning, and since it was an idea, you could say anything you wanted about your product as no one would be able to drive it. Nevertheless, Volkswagen has already been caught testing another diesel hybrid, still in car form.
Volkswagen is working on a diesel hybrid car under the name XL1. The 2014 Volkswagen XL1 uses an 800cc turbo diesel engine that produces less than 50 horsepower, but a torque of around 89 pounds. Then the 27 horsepower electric motor powers the diesel engine, helping to push the 1,749 pound car. This ultra-light and streamlined Volkswagen vehicle can reach speeds of up to 235 miles per gallon. With so little power, it feels like the vehicle won’t win a race unless you go extreme distances. But what’s nice about these Volkswagen is the fact that the company is working on developing highly efficient vehicles using off-the-shelf technology. So if we can just get Americans to buy diesel vehicles, we should see how the development of diesel vehicles will be driven by other manufacturers.
We can see today that trains offer amazing efficiency thanks to diesel generators producing electricity to power the locomotive. So why couldn’t we do this with heavy duty trucks as well as commercial vehicles which provide much better fuel efficiency and save a business owner fortune on fuel bills. Either way, it looks like Volkswagen is making advances in technology and hopefully other companies will adopt and start producing diesel hybrid vehicles. In 2013, we will start to see diesels entering US markets, but it still depends on whether the vehicles sell or not.
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Source by Chana Maddu Abey