With Europe moving rapidly towards Euro 7 emissions standards, Volkswagen is working on electrification plans for the Amarok utility alongside Ford.
The answer may include phasing out diesel engines to achieve stringent emissions standards that will soon be rolled out in some markets. Therefore, gasoline with some form of electrification could become the ‘new diesel’ in some areas.
When an all-electric Amarok already speculated as well, there seems to be scope for a plug-in hybrid – although work must be done to maintain carrying and towing capacity, likely by fitting a smaller battery and sacrificing EV range.
Talking to auto expert At the launch of the new Amarok, Volkswagen’s global product manager for Commercial Vehicles Peter Sulc said there needs to be a compromise somewhere and it could be in the diesel offering.
“If you look at the engines we have now, then look at the draft of Euro 7 [emission standards]you see the requirements for diesel are much higher than the requirements for gasoline,” he said.
“… So technically, it’s easy to bring PHEVs to gasoline engines,” he added.
Asked if Volkswagen was committed to not reducing the availability of an electric Amarok, Mr. Sulc said capacity would come first. And, that means effectively reducing all-electric driving range.
“Personally I see the solution in reducing the power range. If you put less battery, you will be able to, keep pulling and keep the payload.
“But then again about the efficiency of the electric range, because normally in VW [Group]we currently have 100km of electricity [range]. Technically, I see the solution as reducing the power range.”
When asked to elaborate on what would be acceptable, Mr. Sulc said it was a balance between efficiency and the benefits of owning a partially electric vehicle (for some markets). ).
“This is again the point of view if you look if you have a PHEV or a hybrid electric vehicle, you will never accept the 50 or 40 km mileage because you won’t have the ‘video games’ that you have with electric vehicles. .
“You can’t park for free, you can’t be somewhere downtown because it simply doesn’t meet the tram criteria.
“But if you look from the other side of what gasoline has, or someone is having to tow or distance, this is exactly the new diesel for me.
“Also, for the green people, they won’t be satisfied because it doesn’t have a lot of green… so it’s kind of a compromise but for the green people, it’s not green enough. But for those who run on gas, that’s enough,” Mr. Sulc said.
Part of the problem with the electrification of commercial vehicles like dual cabs is the immediate increase in weight, which sacrifices the load-carrying capacity and wide range of tasks that a work vehicle like that can be. This should be possible.
But at the same time, with dual-cab becoming more of a lifestyle than a work proposition in some cases, it is likely that both plug-in hybrid and diesel options will be offered in some regions.
Similarly, there will be some parts of the world selling the T6 platform while a plug-in hybrid won’t make sense for a while.
