As the debate continues around the merits and drawbacks of the electric hybrid battery, here’s an article from Manager Magazin in Germany that discusses the use of diesel engines and their continued dominance over hybrid engines through 2015.

From the article:

Hybrids Work Only for Niches
How does the next generation powertrain look like considering today’s oil prices? Bosch does not believe in a victory of the hybrid concepts, since these cars are in need of carrying two engines on board. And Opel as well does not believe in a fast adoption of electric vehicles. This raises hope for the diesel.

The automotive supplier Bosch is convinced that the hybrid technology will only succeed in a niche for a long time. In contrast, will diesel and gasoline engines be the dominant powertrains fort he next 10 years?

Bernd Bohr, Global Head of Automotive at Bosch, told the German car magazine Auto Motor Sport, “In the year 2015 we project 2.0mn to 3.0mn new cars with hybrid powertrains and 800,000 plug-in electric vehicles.” The amount of new cars to be sold in 2015 is forecasted at 80 million vehicles: “The percentage of gasoline and diesel engines will stay significantly above those of hybrid & electric cars.”, Mr. Bohr said. Bosch also predicts that the global market share of Diesels will rise by 5 percent to 28 percent in 2015.

Also plug-in hybrid vehicles that are charged via socks are no ideal solution. A hybrid powertrain remains very heavy and expensive, says Bohr: “You have on board a complete combustion engine plus exhaust treatment system, tank and the electric infrastructure like electric power device and the battery.”

Despite the strong rise in prices for diesel, Bohr does not see stagnating demand for diesel cars. In markets like France, the percentage of diesel cars has even recently risen from 70 percent to 80 percent because of the newly introduced CO2 tax. Diesel engines have a 30 percent better mileage compared to gasoline cars and therefore top even gasoline hybrids. The CO2 saving goals of the European Union are only achievable according to Bohr: “if diesel cars at least remain on the 50 percent mark in new vehicle sales in Europe”….

For the full article, click here.