Audi's Top Executive Says Diesel Vehicles, Not EVs, a Better Alternative to Gas Cars
By Scott Doggett December 15, 2009
Audi's top U.S. executive said Monday that political leaders have "fallen in love" with electric vehicles even though widespread use may be two decades away.
Right, the award-winning Audi A3 TDI.
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At a speech at the National Press Club, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen reiterated his belief that vehicles such as the extended-range plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt are not currently financially viable without government support and that existing technologies are better served to help drivers get better gas mileage, the Detroit News reported today.
"I understand why political leaders have fallen in love with hybrids and electrics. But this may be the one time you'll hear someone in Washington say it shouldn't be a monogamous relationship," de Nysschen said.
President Obama, however, is one of those enthusiastic backers of electric vehicles. The administration awarded $2.4 billion in cash grants in August to spur electric vehicle and battery improvements. He wants 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015. The Obama administration released a report Monday saying that because of its efforts, the United States will have enough advanced battery capacity to produce 500,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles a year by 2015.
Audi isn't anti-EV, it just seems them as a limited player.
The company just announced that it would build up to 1,000 production models of the (estimated) $160,000 E-tron electric sports car (right) it showed off at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month.
The administration also is working to have 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2015 nationally, up from less than 500 this year. It predicts there will be three electric-vehicle factories and 30 advanced-battery factories in the United States by 2015.
De Nysschen favors using diesel technology and allowing the marketplace to pick the winners and losers, the Detroit News reported. He urged the government not to be "prejudging winning and losing technologies" and urged more work to standardize biodiesel rules.
He noted that if one-third of U.S. vehicles used diesel power, "America would save 1.5 million barrels of oil a day" - the same amount the United States imports from Saudi Arabia daily."
Over half of Audi's sales in Europe are diesels. Audi has two diesels in the U.S. market, and the A3 TDI was awarded the "Green Car of the Year" during press days at the Los Angeles Auto Show two weeks ago.
De Nysschen said Audi was likely to offer a clean-diesel alternative "in every one of our product lines," noting that diesels can be big players in reducing emissions and fuel use because they are about 30 percent more efficient than traditional gasoline engines.
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