Volvo V60 diesel plug-in hybrid to launch next year

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Volvo V60 diesel plug-in hybrid to launch next year

By Darren Quick

03:12 October 18, 2011

8 Comments

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Volvo plans to launch the V60 diesel plug-in hybrid in 2012

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At its unveiling at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, Volvo said its V60 plug-in hybrid was "virtually production-ready." This was an accurate statement as it turns out, with the Swedish automaker announcing that from next year it will begin selling what is likely to be the world's first diesel plug-in hybrid production car. The V60 plug-in hybrid has a range of up to 50 km (31 miles) when driven purely by the electric motor, with the car's total operating range extending up to 1,200 km (745.6 miles) when combined with the ICE.

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The V60 plug-in hybrid is the result of an industrial partnership launched in 2007 between Volvo and Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall that aimed to test and develop plug-in technology. Volvo says the resulting vehicle provides drivers with the best properties of both an electric car and a diesel-powered vehicle: namely, very low fuel consumption and CO2 levels, combined with long range and high performance. Volvo is developing the V60 plug in hybrid in parallel with development of the all-electric C30.

"These two car types complement one another. With a plug-in hybrid the driver is entirely independent of recharging stations when driving long distances. The future electric-car market will feature a mixture of both all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids," says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.

Volvo hasn't revealed exactly how much the V60 plug-in hybrid will cost when it launches next year but says, due to the cost of the hybrid's battery pack, the vehicle will be more expensive than the conventional combustion engine-driven V60. However, the company calculates that fuel costs will be one-third compared with the combustion engine V60 - although exact costs will vary depending on your electricity supplier. The vehicle will take around five hours to charge from a standard household electricity outlet.

Figures supplied by Volvo on the V60 plug-in hybrid's performance are pretty impressive. Volvo says the vehicle averages 49 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer using the NEDC EU Combined certification driving cycle, and gets 1.9 liters per 100 km (123.8 mpg) - which as a point of interest, is even better than the 2.29 liter per 100 km (102.7 mpg) figure reached by the 2010 Automotive X-PRIZE winner, Very Light Car #98.

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User Comments (8)

Finally, a concept makes it to the real world almost unscathed from the concept !!!

However, we in the USA will most likely have to wait until the 'evil diesel' smoker

history is overcome and it actually makes it to our market. Why not . . . NOW ?!?'

Please Volvo, bring this model to the USA. Vinland need another Viking conquest !!!

BombR76 - October 18, 2011 @ 06:54 am PDT

I have no doubt this will be a lovely, efficient automobile - and it won't be offered by my friendly neighborhood Volvo dealer here in the GOUSA.

Eideard - October 18, 2011 @ 08:05 am PDT

It would be really nice if they made it with a WVO/SVO option so it wouldn't need to be modified aftermarket. That said.. no sadly it won't be in the US. NOX emmision standards of states like CA will keep diesel cars off the market.

Michael Mantion - October 18, 2011 @ 09:47 am PDT

It's not that impressive. I was getting close to 1000km range 2 years ago with a Renault Clio diesel... So for more $$$ and the extra weight of an electric drivetrain + batteries, you get 200km more range? Doesn't seem like progress.

Chris Maresca - October 18, 2011 @ 09:59 am PDT

@ Chris Maresca

The purpose of the vehicle is not to have the best range of all. That would have been easily done by fitting a bigger fuel tank. The real advantage of this car is that most of the daily travelling is made on electricity only. Most people have enough of 50km to go from home to work and back from work to home. Some companies may even provide charging stations for their employees, doubling the daily range doable on batteries only.

Some owners of the Chevrolet Volt in USA, in a few months of ownership, haven't filled their tank of gasoline yet. The Volt is capable of around 60km on all electric.

Now, making clean electricity is another problem...

Frank191 - October 18, 2011 @ 10:58 am PDT

According to a recent article in AutoBlogGreen, it takes about the same energy to get gasoline to a vehicle (from well to tank) as the EV actually uses to go the same distance. So essentially by not using gas, the electricity that would have been used is available for use by an EV.

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/14/how-gas-cars-use-more-electricity-to-go-100-miles-than-evs-do/

Eletruk - October 18, 2011 @ 03:23 pm PDT

It is us, as Pogo said, who would keep the car out of the USA and California. There are some great diesel choices available in California, but there is no new car market. It is not emmisions requirements that keep diesels off the market.

There is, however, a strong used car market for the VW TDIs. My old TDI Jetta gets better mileage in the real world than my friends with a Prius. The small diesel cars in Europe get mileage in the 70MPG range. Imagine what a plug in hybrid would do. I'd only have to fill up on trips.

I'd definitely give up both my Mercedes wagon and my TDI for one of these. (Surely it would cost less than a new E350 wagon)

bradleydad - October 18, 2011 @ 04:31 pm PDT

Long time coming, the world has had diesel electric submarines for 100 years.

On a side note, if these hybrids are really not using any fuel in months, better think about adding fuel stabilizers. Otherwise some fuel can turn into varnish.

VoiceofReason - October 19, 2011 @ 07:50 am PDT