It looks like Volkswagen is going to expand on its existing 2-hybrid lineup for the 2015 model year with the addition of a new 2015 Passat Hybrid model. That news comes on the heels of the Geneva auto show, and is based on recent comments made by the Volkswagen Group Chairman, Martin Winterkorn.
In addition to the expected 2015 Passat Hybrid, Winterkorn pointed out that VW’s research and development expenditures rose by 15% last year, to a company record $14 billion. The “lion’s share,” of that money is “going to green technologies,” according to Winterkorn, who said that the move was meant to reinforcing Volkswagen’s stated objective to become the world’s leading “green” automaker by 2018.
When it arrives next year, the 2015 Volkswagen Passat Hybrid will join the existing Touareg SUV and record-setting Jetta sedan hybrid models currently on sale in the US, and may be the first plug-in hybrid the company offers Stateside with a VW badge (the Porsche Panamera Hybrid is, also, a VW product). Expect the PHEV model to be close to the top of the line R spec Passats (shown, below) and priced competitively against the 50 MPG Honda Accord Hybrid that debuted late last year.
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