2013 Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid

The company says that it will ramp up production to 4,000-6,000 units from 2014, since order books are already beginning to fill up. The project, which has been developed and financed by Volvo and Swedish electricity supplier Vattenfall, is the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid.

Incorporating the hybrid’s manufacture in the Torslanda plant’s production line, which also builds Volvo’s regular models, has required certain parts of the assembly line to be modified in order to integrate the more than 300 different parts that the V60 Plug-in Hybrid encompasses compared to the conventional models.

For example, the electric motor and its drive shafts are fitted on the same station as the final drive on the standard all-wheel drive versions. Additionally, the lithium-ion battery pack, which according to Mertens is “the single most complex system in the car”, is lifted through the tailgate and then spun a quarter of a turn in the passenger compartment in just 60 seconds and with less than 20 mm clearance.

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Audi A5 E-Tron Quattro Plug-In Hybrid Prototype

This is the A5 e-tron Quattro plug-in hybrid which matches a 2.0 liter TFSI engine with 211 PS (155 kW / 208 bhp) with two electric motors, one on each axle, that makes this A5 an all-electric capable vehicle.

The electric motor at the front adds another 45 PS (33 kW) to the power going through the front wheels while an 81 PS (60 kW) electric motor at the back powers the rear axle. That rear-mounted motor only kicks in when acceleration requires it to or when sensors detect a loss of rear traction such as in a hard curve. Juice for the electric motors is supplied by a 9.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

With that electrical setup, the A5 e-tron Quattro can travel up to 40 km (25 miles) solely on electric power and is able to reach speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph). Overall, fuel-economy is rated at 2.7 liters/100 km with a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 5.9 seconds (0.6 seconds faster than the standard 2.0 liter TFSI A5) and a top speed of 228 km/h (142 mph).

But this is just a prototype and Audi engineers have had to make use of carbon fiber and aluminum parts to counteract the weight gain of all that electrical gear to keep the curb weight around the same 1,600 kg (3,527 lbs) mark of the standard 2.0 TFSI A5 Quattro.

We'll see if this prototype ever makes it to the streets but Peugeot is ready to prove the concept's market-viability by bringing the 3008 HYbrid4 all-wheel drive capable diesel-electric hybrid to market later this year.

Source: Audi via MotorAuthority

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