The Chairman of Volkswagen, Prof. Dr.Martin Winterkorn, has revealed some new details about the company’s future product lineup. While speaking at the Vienna Motor Symposium, he confirmed that the company is working on a high-performance diesel engine that will be able to produce 136 HP (100 kW) per liter. The executive also acknowledged the development of a 10-speed dual-clutch transmission that will offer better fuel efficiency.
However he did not mention as to when these models are expected to arrive but he discussed company’s plans to refine their petrol and diesel engines. He even stated that the company has been successful in reducing the fuel consumption of their TDI and TSI engines by more than 30 percent since 2000 and that company can achieve further decrease by 15 percent by the year 2020.
Winterkorn also said that the natural gas engines may play a larger role in future products because the technology is fully developed and the CNG vehicles are considered to be environmentally friendly, economical and suitable for daily use.
The executive also confirmed plans to electrify all vehicle classes to improve fuel efficiency and in the short term the company will focus on plug-in hybrid technology. The Audi A3 e-tron and Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid are expected to go on sale shortly and will be soon followed by plug-in hybrid variants of the Golf, Passat, Audi A6 and Porsche Cayenne.
