Pulling a bit of attention away from this week's New York Auto Show, Volvo has teased a plug-in hybrid concept ahead of next week's Beijing Auto Show. The S60L Petrol Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Concept combines performance and fuel economy with a turbo gas-electric powertrain. It previews a model that Volvo plans to introduce next year.
If you're wondering why Volvo chose such a long, clunky concept name, seeing as how the average hybrid uses petrol gas, it seems to be to distinguish the new concept car from the V60 diesel-electric plug-in. The S60L shares the electric technology of that production model, but loses the diesel.
The S60L PPHEV concept car packs a torque-heavy combination of a 238-hp 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder under the hood and a 68-hp electric motor hooked to the rear axle. The motor is backed by an 11.2-kWh lithium-ion battery that's charged from a port on the front fender. A crankshaft-driven Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) is mounted between the engine and eight-speed automatic transmission. The car takes 4 to 4.5 hours to charge from a 230 V hook-up.
"The creation of a powertrain with 238+68 hp and 350+200 Nm [258+148 lb-ft] of torque by combining a petrol turbo from our new four-cylinder Drive-E engine family and an electric motor proves that the most efficient car can also be the most fun to drive," says Peter Mertens, a senior VP at Volvo Cars."This is our most technologically advanced powertrain ever. It brings us closer to our vision to offer zero-emission motoring in the future."
The driver manages the efficiency and fun that Mertens speaks of with a three-mode powertrain, just like in the V60 Plug-In. The "pure" electric mode offers up to 31 miles (50 km) of emissions-free electric driving. The default "hybrid" mode manages output from both the motor and engine, returning about 117 miles per gallon (2L/100km) and emitting 50 g of CO2 per km. The car travels about 620 total miles (1,000 km) in hybrid mode.
When the driver is in a rush (or wants to feel one), he or she can dial it up to "power" mode, directing the might of the engine and motor toward performance, including a 5.5-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h). There's also a gas-electric AWD option available at the push of a button.
Volvo plans to launch the production S60L PPHEV in China early next year, manufacturing at the Chengdu plant.
Source: Volvo
Tesla had to build charging stations around the US to support an electric only vehicle and there are many people who are not yet ready to go EV only.
The average commute distance in the US is 16 miles each way so the 31 miles of range on electric only is enough to tackle commutes almost entirely without gasoline even without plugin it at the office. For longer distance trips only takes 5 minutes to get gas and it still gets good fuel range. Tesla takes about 45 minutes to fully charge.
Once more people start using plug in hybrids and we equip the infrastructure with charging stations we can wean people off of gasoline.
Tesla is doing amazing work but pure EV is still a product that not everyone is ready for and we have to get people off of gasoline now.