Volkswagen is set to release a major rival for Toyota’s Prius as it was seen in exclusive images released. The car will be called Volkswagen XL3 with Volkswagen planning to increase its fleet of electrified vehicles by 2020. Despite encountering huge criticism concerning the manner in which it is dealing with the Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen’s comeback plan is to invest in hybrid ads for all-electric cars. As part of this plan, the automaker will extend its current line-up of electric vehicles to incorporate an independent model to join the fully electric Gold and hybrid Passat.
Dr. Herbert Diess, the head of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, spoke during an exclusive interview with Auto Express. He stated that the company has a commitment to hybrid and electric cars based on the standard MQB (shared modular construction for transverse, front-wheel drive, front-engined vehicles) chassis. This chassis is what is used in making conventional VW cars such as the Passat and Golf. He added that the company has a plan of shifting to a new platform designed solely for electrification. He further said that it would be worthwhile to consider adopting a new architecture that would make it possible to do away with the technical components associated with the combustion engine. This will also help in creating room in the interior section of the vehicle.
For a fully-electric vehicle, you can get exterior dimensions that are a size bigger. This means that for a length similar to that of Golf, the interior space would be that of a Passat. The new electric platform for Volkwagen will probably be referred to as the Modular Electric platform, or MEB. It is expected that this platform will have a high compatibility with the MQB. This will allow electric cars to be manufactured on similar lines to combustion engine cars.
XL3’s electric motor has been projected to produce approximately 30 bhp with a lower version of Volkswagen’s turbocharged petrol engine with a capacity of 1.4 liter. To save more fuel, it will feature a cylinder deactivation system. The battery is expected to be relatively modest and the electric range will be a few miles. The overall fuel consumption will exceed 94 mpg, which translates 3 liters for every 10 kilometers.
Beyond a hybrid car, Volkswagen also has future plans to produce a fully electric car. Mathiam Muller, Volksagen Grouo boss has given strong hints concerning the project’s technical targets. By 2020, cars having full electric ranges exceeding 500 km will be extremely feasible. Charging such cars will take a few minutes. On a long term basis, electric cars would be less costly compared to cars using internal combustion engines.