When Volkswagen showed off the Golf TDI Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show last month there was plenty of interest in the 69mpg concept. The combination of a 1.2L diesel, hybrid electric drive and a 7 speed DSG transmission yields some seriously thrifty performance. Unfortunately all that cool hardware adds up to quite a bit of cost and it now looks like the bottom line is too big to justify for a car in the Golf's market segment. German magazine Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the Golf TDI Hybrid will not come to pass. Instead, VW will combine the hybrid system with a 1.4 TFSI four cylinder. In the Geneva press release VW said "The Golf TDI Hybrid is currently a concept vehicle, but a version of this vehicle is likely to go into production in the future." VW of America Spokesman Keith Price told ABG that no firm production plans were announced and the car was just a concept. With the U.S. dollar in continued decline, it seems unlikely we'll see anything as fancy as the TDI hybrid or any other hybrid until VW gets a U.S. production site on-line.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport (print only), via The Truth About Cars]

Channel 4 in Britain is reporting that one of the vehicles that Volkswagen will be showing in Geneva in a couple of weeks is a diesel hybrid version of the Golf. Although VW has been experimenting with various hybrid powertrains since at least the early '90s, they have yet to offer one in production. Apparently Volkswagen has developed this system primarily for the U.S. market and it will be Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant. The system will likely be offered on the Golf (branded as a Rabbit in the U.S.) and at least two of its platformmates, the Jetta sedan and the Audi A3. The Golf is expected to get 69.2 mpg (U.S.) and emit carbon dioxide at the rate of 89g/km. Most likely, this will be some sort of mild hybrid setup in order to make it cost-effective in the U.S. market. Volkswagen is also developing a strong hybrid system that will be installed on the Touareg and Q7 next year.

[Source: Channel 4]