Volkswagen has started test driving cars with a hybrid-electric drive train dubbed TwinDrive.
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VW Group chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, introduced a TwinDrive Golf in Berlin last week, explaining that it used an electric motor that can be supplemented by an internal combustion engine on long distances, reported dpa.
The testing of 20 cars will continue until 2012, during which time long-life batteries will also be developed.
The first cars with the technology should become available in 2010.
The Volkswagen cars will run for 30 miles (50km) in pure electric model and develop up to 170 horsepower. In the test the electric engines will use electricity produced from wind, water and sun.
According to Germany’s environment ministry, the test project is part of an R&D project with a total of eight companies, costing around EUR45m (EUR15m of which has come from the German government).
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By GlobalDataEnvironment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, said that he expects around 1m electric cars on the road by 2012 and 10m by 2030.
According to electricity company Eon Energy, drivers can save roughly half their fuel bills by running a car on electricity rather than conventional fossil fuels. However, the price of the cars has to come down to make them attractive to customers. At the moment an electric battery car carries a premium of around EUR10,000.
