Innovations.

How can previously unused energy be used for the drive system? Volkswagen has the answer: with brake energy regeneration (recuperation). This system stores previously wasted energy from the brake application in the car battery and increases efficiency.

Our engineers even try to save on fuel consumption with small and clever innovations – with the start-stop system for instance. It automatically turns the engine off when the vehicle comes to a stop and starts it back up when you let off the brake pedal. That can result in up to a 5 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Our requirements for a Volkswagen vehicle are clear: we want to be prepared for the strictest emission standards of tomorrow today – with the NOx catalytic convertor or SCR system of our BlueTDI models. These technologies offer our customers the cleanest TDI technologies of tomorrow in the cars of today.

Volkswagen recognises that the aim of sustainable mobility can not be achieved by a single engine concept and one type of fuel alone. That’s why our BiFuel engines use liquefied petroleum gas and the EcoFuel models use natural gas. As a result, the engines emit considerably less CO2 and other pollutants compared to similar petrol engines. Our MultiFuel concept enables vehicles to be run mainly with ethanol, petrol or any mix of the two.

Volkswagen is also developing alternative drive systems, for instance hybrid and electric engines. In the hybrid engine, we combine our high-performance TSI engines with an electric motor. This leads to a reduction in consumption levels of up to 15 percent. That is just an intermediate step towards a completely electric drive system, which causes no local emissions and, when it uses energy from renewable sources, is especially environmentally friendly. Our long-term aim here is: stop using oil.