2015 Passat Hybrid Coming, Says Volkswagen

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.

Source | Photos: Volkswagen, via Green Car Congress, via Cleantechnica.

Volkswagen Passat Plug-In Hybrid to Debut in 2015

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2014 VW Passat

Autobild is reporting that Volkswagen has at least one more plug-in hybrid in the works.

A3 Sportback e-tron Cutaway

Set to debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the VW Passat PHEV will round out Volkswagen’s vast array of plug-in vehicles.

• VW e-Golf BEV
• VW Golf GTE PHEV
• VW e-Up! BEV
• VW XL-1 PHEV

And soon VW Passat PHEV.  Dr. Martin Winterkorn, VW Group chairman of the board, made this statement at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show:

“Further high-efficiency models such as the Audi A8, A6 and Q7 or the plug-in hybrid version of the Volkswagen Passat are to follow soon. Because this technology has a future.”

The VW Passat PHEV, like the Audi A3 e-tron Sportback, will feature the following:

• 1.4-liter turbocharged four cylinder gasoline engine with 148 hp
• Electric motor with 107 hp
• 8.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack
• 31 miles (NEDC) of electric-only range (estimated 20-odd miles on the EPA standard)

As Autobild reports (via Google Translate):

“Also a done deal is a plug -in hybrid, which follows on from the technology of the Audi A3 e-tron… Market launch is already at the IAA 2015 , we see the normal Passat in the autumn of 2014.”

There’s no word yet on whether or not the PHEV Passat will be sold in the US.  We suspect it will be, as the Passat is a vehicle tailored to American tastes.  If it arrives, expect it no earlier than later 2015 and to perhaps be priced in the upper $30,000 region.

Source: Autobild