PSA Peugeot Citroën on Tuesday unveiled two prototype models with a new diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, the Peugeot 307 and the Citroën C4 Hybride HDi.
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The automaker claims the performance of these cars represents a major breakthrough in further improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions. They also provide increased driving comfort under all conditions, especially in urban traffic.
Average diesel consumption is 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres, with 90 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometre, tank to wheel – a claimed record for compact cars, the most popular segment in Europe. This is some 25% better than a similar vehicle equipped with a petrol hybrid system, or up to a litre per 100 kilometres in combined urban and motorway driving.
PSA Peugeot Citroën’s Hybrid HDi technology comprises of a 1.6-litre HDi diesel engine, a particulate filter system (DPFS) with the latest generation Stop & Start system, an electric motor, inverter, high-voltage battery pack and dedicated control electronics. The cars are also equipped with an electronically-managed automated manual six-speed gearbox.
The Stop & Start system enables the Hybride HDi vehicles to start and drive using only the HDi diesel engine, even when the high-voltage battery pack is totally flat. Other hybrid vehicles, in contrast, would be totally immobilised in this situation.
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By GlobalDataThe Hybride HDi has several other features including: recovery of kinetic energy during deceleration and braking; an all-electric mode, or zero emission vehicle (ZEV), eliminating noise and emissions for urban driving at up to 50 kilometres an hour (30mph); and an extended ZEV mode, in which electrical power is used by default, depending on the battery charge level.
For main road and motorway driving, the electric motor can provide a 35% power boost for extra acceleration when needed.
PSA Peugeot Citroën could market its Hybride HDi vehicles as early as 2010 but their introduction depends on making this technology available at an affordable price. Today, the price gap between a Hybride HDi model and a comparable diesel HDi model is still too wide and would have to be halved to make diesel hybrid vehicles accessible to most consumers.
To meet the challenge of lowering the cost of this technology, the group plans a two-pronged approach: extensive R&D on the four areas that generate most of the extra cost: high-voltage batteries, electric motor/generator, inverter and the regenerative braking system and to unite the expertise of equipment manufacturers and research laboratories to focus on this project.
PSA Peugeot Citroën has asked the French Agency for Industrial Innovation to support the project.
The company reckons that diesel hybrids will eventually trump petrol hybrids in the European market due to the already strong penetration of conventional diesel-powered vehicles.
The automaker’s research shows that fuel economy for a petrol hybrid vehicle is similar to a conventional diesel-powered vehicle of identical proportions, such as weight, size and maximum cross section, while its CO2 emissions are around 10% lower.
A hybrid petrol vehicle is, however, significantly more expensive than an equivalent conventional diesel vehicle.
High-tech diesel engines (HDi) have grown steadily more popular in Europe since the late 1990s. One out of every two passenger cars bought is now equipped with a diesel engine, compared with one out of four in 1998. In some countries, including France, the percentage of diesel cars reached 70% in 2005. This ongoing growth shows that there is strong consumer demand for vehicles that are both affordable and offer low fuel consumption without compromising driving comfort.
In addition, with the arrival of its pioneer diesel particulate filter system (DPFS), now fitted to more than 1.3 million vehicles across both brands, diesel engines have gained a more environmentally friendly reputation.
“Understandably therefore,” PSA Peugeot Citroen claims, “petrol hybrid vehicles have failed to take off substantially in Europe, despite the significant tax incentives introduced in various European Union countries.
“A diesel hybrid could however provide a step change in terms of fuel economy, because it combines the exceptional efficiency of the diesel engine, used over its optimum operating range, with an electric motor suited to urban driving.”
