Peugeot will be the first manufacturer to sell a small family car with a diesel-electric hybrid power unit. It will be a version of the new model 308 and will be on sale before the end of the decade. Peugeot doesn’t sell in the US, but has seen hybrids like the Prius sell in Europe and elsewhere. Toyota has sold around 5,000 Prius cars in the UK and more than 22,000 Prius cars in Europe. The Peugeot diesel hybrid is expected to average more than 70 miles per gallon. It will have the lowest carbon dioxide emissions of any car except a pure electric car. Peugeot has so far declined to quote a price saying they are working to cut the cost.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Toyota bought a 5.9 stake in Isuzu. Leveraging Isuzu’s expertise in diesel, Toyota plans to combine its Synergy hybrid powertrain with a diesel engine. A Toyota subcompact with this system is reported to be available in 2010. In the US, you may have seen a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle and not realized it. City transit buses, military land vehicles, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, etc. I have been using diesel hybrids for years.
Since diesel engines operate optimally at constant highway speeds, trucks come naturally to diesel engines. Therefore, the combination of the diesel engine with an electric drive system is of great benefit to heavy trucks that must also navigate city streets with their stop-start traffic. Other manufacturers, in addition to Toyota and Peugeot, are also working on developing their own diesel-powered hybrid vehicles. These include Citroen, Ford, Opel and Volkswagen. Until 2007, most of the diesel fuel sold in the United States was the high-sulfur variety that is beginning to be phased out by law in 2010. Now, cleaner diesel fuel is beginning to be available nationwide. This, in turn, is motivating the aforementioned manufacturers to develop diesel-electric hybrid vehicles.
This new diesel fuel is an ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) with a sulfur content of less than 15 parts per million. By 2010, more than 53 new trucks will be needed to match the emissions of a 1988 truck. With increasing clean diesel fuel production, most analysts predict that diesel sales will account for more than 10 percent of sales. US vehicle sales by 2015. Additionally, since diesel fuel is less flammable and explosive than gasoline, approximately 60 percent of US school buses run on diesel.
Additionally, diesel vehicles typically get 20 to 40 percent more miles per gallon than gasoline vehicles. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US could save up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day if a third of US vehicles ran on diesel. This is the amount of oil that is currently imported from Saudi Arabia. These figures are for pure diesel vehicles. A diesel hybrid electric vehicle would save even more on oil.
Lastly, diesel drivers have the option of fueling their vehicles with biodiesel blends. This is a domestically produced fuel that further reduces dependence on US oil. By turning to a diesel hybrid electric vehicle, American can save money at the pump without sacrificing the power and performance drivers expect and trust.