VW still betting on hydrogen, adds 16 cars to U.S. test fleet
Although Volkswagen is known for its diesels, the German marque is glad to show that it's also a player on the fuel-cell battlefield. How? By shipping 16 fuel-cell Passat Lingyu sedans to the U.S. from China. The cars were brought to the California Fuel Cell Partnership facility in West Sacramento for long-term testing. Remarkably, VW shipped the somewhat "old" models, which are at least one year old. What's more, these cars had a few issues when they were tested by journalists, like shuddering acceleration. Well, at least VW can show that, like other automakers (Toyota, for instance), it can keep its stake in hydrogen vehicle development, despite those DOE cuts.
[Source: Edmunds]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sp 9:59AM (5/22/2009)
16 cars? They are betting on it? LOL the volt thing just said they have 50 now and will add 50 in the next month in testing.
Reply
Matt 10:35AM (5/22/2009)
Right, but the Volt is slated for full scale production. This is a Passat mule test platform; sixteen is a decent run. Apples/Oranges
Mark 10:00AM (5/22/2009)
VW again have their priorities wrong. How much do these cars cost?
Reply
Shock Me 10:46AM (5/22/2009)
Blah Blah Blah Infrastructure, Blah Blah Blah conversion inefficiency....
Me thinks hydrogen sucks much less than gasoline.
Me thinks battery much better.
Me thinks someone needs to start putting fast recharge sockets near wherever an EV stops.
Me goes back to bunker because napping in my hammock is cheaper than all this moving about.
augustus 1:22PM (5/22/2009)
@ shockme
"Blah Blah Blah Infrastructure, Blah Blah Blah conversion inefficiency...."
hydrogen infrastructure is an impossible bar to clear but EV infrastructure that meets "Me thinks someone needs to start putting fast recharge sockets near wherever an EV stops" is Super EZ mode! Genius!
"Me thinks battery much better."
How many charge/discharge cycles do you get before you have to replace your battery, and how does this compare to the durability of fuel cells? (I don't know, would love to see some figures).
SteveCT 4:11PM (5/22/2009)
There's already a rudimentary EV infrastructure--it's called the grid. It's got drawbacks (slow recharge) but it goes everywhere, which puts it infinitely ahead of the current hydrogen infrastructure.
As for durability, fuel cells lose that competition badly, lasting for about three years of average American driving before needing replacement (so probably about 45,000 miles). By contrast, a battery pack that lasts 500 charge/discharge cycles and gets 300 miles per charge will go about 150,000 miles, and even then it won't be useless, just somewhat lower capacity (say 240 miles, perhaps).
cosmosis 12:38PM (5/26/2009)
"As for durability, fuel cells lose that competition badly, lasting for about three years of average American driving before needing replacement (so probably about 45,000 miles)"
lasting for about three years? Fuel cells do not have a shelf life. They do however have an operating life measured in hours which the current generation fuel cells operate ~100,000 miles. Even after that, they still work, but have 10% less power (a la DoE methods)
posterboy 11:05AM (5/22/2009)
How does bringing them from China to the US show that VW is "betting on Hydrogen?" Maybe if they announced that they were producing 16 new vehicles for their test fleet, you could make a case for a VW pushing hydrogen, but moving them from China is like "transfering" money from your left pocket to your right and then calling yourself richer. Who knows, maybe VW is just getting ready for the "Cash for Clunkers" bill to pass....
Reply
downtoearth 12:17PM (5/22/2009)
A better title would be: Volkswagen is betting against the USA and on China.
paulwesterberg 12:20PM (5/22/2009)
Hydrogen propaganda machine needs food badly.
Hydrogen propaganda machine is about to die.
meme 2:51PM (5/22/2009)
Paul, you're my new best friend. ;)
XYZ 11:46PM (5/22/2009)
Mine too :o))
PS
I should come up with a standardized reply to Greg Blenco's propaganda with all the facts that I only need to cut and paste that none of the uninformed gets sucked in into this fool cell BS.
Tohe 12:53PM (5/22/2009)
In this bad economy, hydrogen "hype maintenance" may be beneficial to VW. However, in the long term this position will be counterproductive to VW and to the public perception of the automaker.
Reply
Chris M 1:47AM (5/23/2009)
I must point out that these vehicles were built months ago, before the recent cutoff of H2 research funds in the US. This car shipment may have been planned before the fund cutoff, or it may be a feeble effort to restart that funding, or it might be just a promotional "greenwash" effort.
Is Germany funding H2 research? Probably not as much as the US did, or VW would have sent their Chinese H2FC cars to Germany for testing.
Reply
cosmosis 12:42PM (5/26/2009)
The amount of money the automakers received (which VW is not in the DoE program) from government agencies barely makes a dent in R&D put into these vehicles. The DoE program is excellent for pushing the technology and making milestones (which were all met)
UFO 2:51AM (5/23/2009)
only the chassis of this car from VW, other parts are mainly designed and produced by our university which is Tongji University in Shanghai China.
Reply