German government and Volkswagen launch fleet test:
Electric car driving with renewable energy
Germany promotes use of electrically powered automobiles
Alliance of German companies works on future of mobility
Wolfsburg/Berlin, 26 June 2008

Volkswagen is demonstrating with a new drive system just how car driving might appear in the near future. Its name: “TwinDrive”. The technology: a plug-in hybrid drive of the next generation. The “TwinDrive” was introduced today in Berlin. And indeed at a very timely occasion: the start of the “Fleet test: electric drive vehicles”. The large project is being initiated by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Federal Ministry for the Environment is supporting the fleet study in the framework of the Climate Protection Initiative.

Environment minister Sigmar Gabriel had these comments on the project at the “Unter den Linden automobile forum” sponsored by Volkswagen AG in Berlin: “The project ‘Fleet test: electric drive vehicles’ reflects the objective for future mobility: the efficient use of renewable energy sources in transportation. In the future, the most advanced drive concepts in the style of the TwinDrive will enable users to cover everyday routes by electrical, solar, wind and water power without any limitations relative to conventio­nal vehicles.”

E-Motor and TDI/TSI form a strong team outside the city

“The present era of the automobile would be inconceivable without highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines. But the future will most certainly belong to the electric motors – refueled at the electrical outlet. On the way to this future, our TDI and TSI engines are now being merged with electric motors and extremely efficient battery systems to form a new drive system”, explained Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen AG, in Berlin. The Volks­wagen chief continued: “The Golf TwinDrive being presented here today enables electrically powered driving in the city, on the one hand, while also enabling very long ranges over extended driving routes on which the combustion engine is used. For us, the TwinDrive represents an elementary step along the path toward the completely electrically driven automobile!”

Volkswagen AG is extending all aspects of its research and development program for long-term electrification of the engine with its involvement in the “Fleet test: electric drive vehicles” project. The corporation is working together with numerous global partners in realizing these objectives.

Key goals of the fleet test summed up

The electric motors of the test fleet should be driven by electricity generated from renewable energy sources (wind, water and solar power). On the test cars, this energy will be stored using the latest battery technologies. These batteries should be designed for especially long-life and cost-effectiveness to enable a breakthrough in high-volume production of electric drives.

The test vehicles from Volkswagen should represent the first step on the path toward the completely electrically powered automobile. Thanks to its long range in electric mode (about fifty kilometers) the TwinDrive offers new perspectives for local traffic, since no emissions are generated in electric operation. Moreover, the system’s hybrid function also enables low fuel consumption values on long driving routes.