PARIS - French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen on Tuesday unveiled two demonstration vehicles powered by diesel-hybrid engines and said it wanted to sell tens of thousands of them annually from 2010.
PSA has long stayed out of the race to bring gasoline hybrids - combining a combustion engine and an electrical motor - to the market because it thinks clean diesel engines alone can provide performance on fuel consumption and emissions that is comparable to gasoline-hybrid engines.
A diesel hybrid can offer further fuel savings of about 25 percent over a diesel engine.
Rivals such as Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota are also embracing diesel hybrids but for big cars, such as the Jaguar S-type, Mercedes E, or for trucks.
The two demonstration cars - a Peugeot 307 and Citroen C4 - are in the highly competitive compact car segment and their fuel consumption is cut to 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres (69.2 miles per gallon).
For the moment, however, the cars are too expensive.
"Our objective is to reduce the cost by a factor 2.5 to 3 so that the difference a consumer has to pay for a diesel hybrid is the same as that between a petrol and a diesel car - because the gain in fuel economies and emission reduction is the same," Chief Executive Jean-Martin Folz told reporters.
The cost difference between the demonstration vehicles and a conventional diesel model is about 8,000 euros ($9,700) now and has to be cut to 1,500-2,000 euros.
NUTS AND BOLTS
These reductions have to come from PSA's own engineering but also from suppliers, while the carmaker has asked for some state funding of research as part of 100 million euros earmarked by the French government for cutting fuel consumption in transport.
Folz said high energy prices were supporting the business case for more fuel efficient cars, while he expected government regulation and fiscal measures to promote "eco citizenship" would also provide a boost for the new vehicles.
PSA's system combines a 1.6-litre high-pressure diesel injection engine with a particle filter and a Stop & Start system that switches the engine off automatically when the vehicle stands still.
At low speeds, such as in towns, the car can drive entirely electrically with low noise and very low pollution, while at higher speeds the diesel engine kicks in.
But even on motorways, when the diesel engine is the main power source, the electric motor can provide an extra boost for acceleration when overtaking another vehicle.
The cost of the batteries, electric motor and regenerative braking system still needs to be cut and PSA wants to tap the expertise of suppliers and research labs to reach that goal. That means Valeo, Faurecia, Saft and others will also have to chip in to reduce production costs.
Folz said the diesel-hybrid engine could power any compact car on so-called Platform 2 or even bigger Platform 3 vehicles.
A planned four-wheel-drive car was unlikely to get one, however, because drivers of those vehicles were considered less interested in fuel efficiency.
Story by Marcel Michelson
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
