Volkswagen CEO: Safe and affordable electric-cars are “very far away”

Posted: Mar 04, 2009

Filed under: Hybrids, Green News, Industry News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s CEO Martin Winterkorn said that while the current wave of consumer interest in environmentally friendly cars will last, electric-cars will not dominate auto dealerships anytiem soon.

“Electric mobility does have a place in the long-term future,” Winterkorn told Automotive News Europe. However, he said that safe and affordable electric-vehicles for daily use are “very far away.”

“We’re concerned with the best solution, not the fastest solution,” Winterkorn said.

The V-dub CEO said that combustion engines will remain the main powerplant for passenger vehicles for at least 15 to 20 years. He said that Volkswagen will continue to focus on the “further optimization of the combustion engine.”

Neil

I am not sold on the Volt being the great white hope of the US auto industry either

Other compnaies are going to do hybrids that are better (Ford, toyota and Honda already are in my opinion), the volt may just go down in histroy as the car that finally killed GM.

They should but Lithiun ion technology in the insignia with a multi-vavle 4cylinder (like it already has in Europe) and sell it as a Chevy here in the states, it would get mid 30s mileage and blow the prius and insight ou tof the water.