Volvo Cars and Vattenfall to Develop New Plug-in Diesel-Electric Hybrids; Three V70 PHEV Demonstrators on the Road This Summer
01 June 2009
Swedish energy company Vattenfall and the Volvo Car Corporation are launching an industrial joint venture partnership to introduce plug-in hybrids on the market by 2012. In January 2007, Volvo and Vattenfall launched a joint project with the aim of testing and developing plug-in technology. (Earlier post.) They are now extending that cooperation.
The development of the cars is being carried out and financed jointly by the two companies. The Volvo Car Corporation will manufacture the cars and Vattenfall will develop charging systems and supply the cars with electricity.
We are investing in an industrial joint venture to series-produce plug-in hybrid cars in Sweden in 2012, cars that can be powered by both electricity and diesel.
—Stephen Odell, President and CEO of the Volvo Car Corporation
| The Volvo V70 Plug-in hybrid demonstration car fuelling up at a public charging station. Click to enlarge. |
Vattenfall will offer customers the opportunity to sign an agreement for renewable electricity sourced specifically from windpower or hydropower, as an alternative to the regular mix of electricity sources.
The partners will have three Volvo V70 PHEV demonstration cars on the road in the summer of 2009. These will combine a front-wheel drive diesel engine with a rear-wheel drive electric motor, powered by an 11.3 kWh Li-ion battery pack, of which 8 kWh is usable. The car will support both residential charging (approx. five hours) as well as a 32A fast charge.
The demonstration cars will be used to gather information about the wishes and demands that drivers may have on the new technology, to determine their driving habits and to establish how they want to charge their cars.
Vattenfall will, among other things, test various concepts for high-speed home charging and also for charging stations in public places, where owners pay to fuel with electricity instead of gasoline or diesel. The cars that are planned to go into series production in 2012 will feature somewhat different technology, but the launch of the demonstration vehicles is a step towards series-producing plug-in hybrid cars specifically tailored to market needs.
What about Volvo Recharge? V 70 with additional el. motor and battery looks like marketing tool but not real thing.
Posted by: Darius | 01 June 2009 at 06:30 AM
A 2012 version of the 1997 Audi Duo! This time with a proper battery.
Nice to see 71% SOC utilisation of the LiFePO4. It will also be interesing to see if they can make their series-production target of 2012.
Posted by: clett | 01 June 2009 at 07:29 AM
This looks really cool. I would love to know how big the trunk is. One thing I noticed in the Prius is that the battery pack under the trunk makes the trunk small. I imagine this probably would be even worse on a plug-in, esp since the engine is in back in this car. A wagon is a good place to start. There is a large trunk to begin with so if it becomes smaller, maybe this isn't such a big deal. A car that can go long distances thanks to its two engines and gigantic battery pack is not much use if all of that takes up so much space that there is no room left for cargo.
Posted by: Peter9909 | 01 June 2009 at 07:47 AM
Diesel hybrid...seems I remember 3 of these from the U.S. automakers about 10 years ago. I heard that they got 70 mpg.
Posted by: SJC | 01 June 2009 at 09:20 AM
Yes, and the GM PNGV entry - the "Precept" - obtained 80 mpg combined (gasoline equivalent) - http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars_trucks/1267946.html?page=1&c=y
Posted by: Carl | 01 June 2009 at 12:11 PM
Thank the Bush administration for Volvo's ability to lead in this field.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 04 June 2009 at 06:57 PM
Thank you for posting such a great article! I found your website perfect for my needs. It contains wonderful and helpful posts. Keep up the good work! used cars classifieds
Posted by: Tom Watson | 20 February 2013 at 03:00 AM