Americans Buy Hybrids, Not Diesels, So Diesel-Friendly VW is Electrifying

Volkswagen made a big splash with its $16,000 2011 Jetta Tuesday, big enough to overshadow the company's ambitious hybrid and electric car strategy. Like all German automakers, VW has tended to push diesels as a better green strategy than hybridization, but that tune seems to be changing (although they still like diesels).

Business results dictate an electrification strategy for the U.S. VW diesels are selling here finally (35 percent of U.S.-spec Jettas are diesels), but it's the continued market-leading success of Toyota's Prius that has finally gotten Wolfsburg's attention as it tries to find elusive profitability in the U.S. market. "The U.S. is a hybrid market, and Europe is a diesel market," said CEO Stefan Jacoby in an interview. Here's more of that interview on video:

The first VW hybrid here will be the Touareg SUV, which at 28 mpg combined will actually be less fuel-efficient than the V6 TDI version of the same car. But after that it's a flood of hybrid and electric introductions. The Jetta will be hybridized for 2012 with a 1.4-liter turbocharged TSI four-cylinder engine with direct injection producing 150 horsepower. The electric motor adds another 25, so we're talking about a 175-horsepower drivetrain. There is a novel seven-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).

VW powertrain chief Wolfgang Hatz said in an interview that the Jetta hybrid will achieve a combined 41 mpg. "It will be very competitive," he said. Hatz also revealed that the 2013 Golf hybrid would use essentially the same engine/electric motor combination.

But wait, there's more! The Passat will also be offered in a 2013 hybrid version, though the powertrain information on that isn't readily available. Also coming in test fleets are the electric E-Golf and E-Jetta. Some 500 E-Golfs will be on the road in the U.S. in 2011, said the automaker. All told, VW claims that the various green iterations of the Jetta and Golf will allow it "to dominate the hybrid and electric vehicle market."

We'll see about that. VW has a lot of competition. Without substantial lightening, the Golf and Jetta could be relatively heavy platforms for electric cars. More practical as an electric city car is the tiny bug-like Up, which comes out as an EV in 2013. "The heart of the brand will beat with electricity," says Martin Winterkorn, chairman of VW AG's board of management.

With all these new introductions, VW will definitely be the European leader in electrifying the automobile. I haven't driven any of the entries yet, but with the company's focus finally moving away from diesels, expect good things.