Volvo Unveils Plug-in Diesel-Electric Hybrid Car, Says It Will Be Available in 2012
By Scott Doggett June 1, 2009
Volvo today presented a new concept car that combines a plug-in charged lithium battery with a diesel engine, technology the Swedish automaker aims to have on the market in 2012.
"This is a significant leap compared to our earlier plans of offering a regular full-hybrid on the market by 2012," Volvo CEO Stephen Odell said at a press conference in Stockholm.
The plug-in hybrid car, developed in partnership with Nordic power utility Vattenfall, can run on battery power for up to 50 kilometers (31 miles), Odell said.
He said emissions would be below 50 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer (about half the emissions of the best hybrids currently on the market), and he called for politicians to offer consumers incentives to make the new technology affordable.
"We do of course expect that the purchasing price will be higher," he said. "In this area we are keen to see further subsidies and incentives from the political arena to promote green choice among customers."
In a press release issued today, Volvo said the car could be fueled with electricity from a 220-volt wall socket.
We reported last October that Volvo had been working on conventional, diesel-electric and plug-in hybrids for years and that it intended to bring all of them to market.
At the time, Volvo said the diesel-electric hybrid will combine the company's front-wheel-drive D5 turbodiesel with an electric motor to drive the rear wheels.
Furthermore, Volvo announced back then that a full charge could provide the car with 100 kilometers (62 miles) of all-electric travel before an onboard, internal combustion engine would kick in.
The engine wouldn't run the wheels but -- shades of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt -- would generate juice for the electric drive system and, simultaneously, recharge the batteries.
The automaker wasn't as generous with details today.
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