Green cars: is there a diesel hybrid?

We know that diesel vehicles are efficient and generally have a long life span allowing for several years of use while still maintaining great overall mileage. Today we see newly designed diesel engines running cleaner and more efficiently than ever before. The same is true with hybrid technology as we see vehicles becoming more efficient and thanks to longer lasting batteries we are getting more life out of hybrid battery packs. In fact, battery packs are becoming so durable that companies like Hyundai offer a lifetime warranty on the battery packs in their hybrid vehicles. So it’s only a matter of time before someone tries to merge a diesel and hybrid powertrain to produce a highly efficient vehicle.

At the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, Volkswagen presented its off-road vehicle concept that used a diesel-hybrid drive system. The vehicle had a 1.8L turbocharged diesel engine mated to an electrically assisted motor, and collectively, Volkswagen claims up to 131 mpg. They also claim that the 4,000-pound vehicle can go from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. Those results are pretty amazing and since this was a concept, you could pretty much say whatever you wanted about your product because no one would be able to drive it. However, Volkswagen has already been caught testing another diesel hybrid but in car form, sort of.

Volkswagen has been working on a diesel-hybrid car under the name XL1. The 2014 Volkswagen XL1 uses an 800cc turbo-diesel engine to produce less than 50 horsepower but around 89 pound-feet of torque. Then the 27-horsepower electric motor assists the diesel engine by helping push the 1,749-pound car. Volkswagen claims up to 235 miles per gallon with this ultralight, aerodynamic vehicle. With so little power, it looks like the car won’t win you any races unless you’re looking for extreme distances. But the good thing about these Volkswagens is the fact that the company is working on developing highly efficient vehicles by using standard technology. So if we can get Americans to start buying diesel vehicles, we should see other manufacturers push the development of diesel-electric vehicles.

We see today’s trains offer incredible efficiency thanks to diesel generators that produce electricity to drive the locomotive. So why couldn’t we do this with heavy duty trucks as well as commercial grade vehicles, therefore producing much better fuel efficiency and saving the business owner a fortune on fuel bills? Either way, it looks like Volkswagen is moving forward with the technology, and hopefully we’ll see other companies catch up and start producing hybrid diesel vehicles. By 2013, we will start to see diesel vehicles in US markets, but it still all depends on whether or not the vehicles sell.