In a recent interview with Inside Line, VW powertrain chief Wolfgang Hatz mentioned his disdain for hybrids:
Hybrid technology is a very expensive way to save a small amount of fuel. The cost/benefit analysis is quite on the expensive side, but we’re politically pressed to develop hybrids by the U.S. market.
If someone said that every car must be a hybrid, the car industry would be bankrupt quicker than anything else. Even Toyota would have problems if they had to produce hybrids in high volumes. But politically we have to do a certain amount of hybrids.
One has to wonder – are these his actual feelings on the subject, or is he a little bitter the VW is way behind on the hybrid game – they currently have zero hybrid vehicles on the market. Sounds like a little bit of “sour grapes” mentality to me – we don’t have hybrids, therefore hybrids are bad.
If your company missed the boat on a type of vehicle, suck it up and admit your failure. Better yet, get some product in the pipeline as quick as can be, so that you can get in on the growing market. Don’t simply dismiss the entire segment – no one is fooled.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
He’s right. Hybrids are silly, and Toyota won the marketing game. You can get a cleaner car that gets better mileage (Mini Cooper D, VW Polo BlueMotion) right now. When you factor in the price, and the ridiculous way the batteries are shipped across the Pacific twice before they land in the U.S. showrooms, the Prius makes me sick.
Hybrids make a lot of sense, VW is just bitter at the fact that they missed the boat. Diesels, though they’re much much cleaner than they used to be, still emit all kinds of nasty stuff that gas engines don’t. Cleaner by some measures, dirtier by others.