Volkswagen Showcases Clean TDI, Biodiesel, and Hydrogen at Sustainability Summit

PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 8, 2007; Volkswagen of America, Inc. is giving a high profile to vehicles with lower environmental impact at the Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit, being held at Art Center College of Design in Southern California. Here, designers and other transportation experts from many countries are sharing ideas on ways to make future mobility more environmentally compatible.

As this vision unfolds, attendees and Art Center students are being provided the unique experience of driving VW models running on biodiesel, ultra low sulfur diesel, hydrogen, and highly efficient gasoline engines on public roads. Driving some of the very technologies and fuels being discussed at the Summit provides the reality check that moving forward in meaningful and more environmentally-conscious ways is much more than theory. It's happening today, and in ways that address the needs and desires of drivers now and in the years ahead.

"It's important to demonstrate that raising the bar in such important areas as fuel efficiency and emissions reduction isn't just accomplished with exotic or future-oriented technologies," says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, which is hosting the Summit's ride-and-drive. "Volkswagen's demonstration of its clean diesel and twin charger engines provides real-world examples of environmentally positive technologies that are operating on highways today."

At the event's Green Cars/Pasadena ride-and-drive, VW is fielding a Touareg V-10 TDI running on B5 biodiesel, a mixture of conventional ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and renewable biodiesel. Diesel fuel that includes a mix of biodiesel burns cleaner and also helps displace fossil fuel use, contributing to energy diversity. VW has extended warranty protection to its models operating on B5 biodiesel as a way to encourage use of this cleaner fuel.

An advance look is also being offered of a highly efficient, twin charger gasoline engine Jetta in development. This Jetta's TSI engine provides higher power output from a smaller displacement engine while also achieving greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The TSI is popular in Europe and now is being considered for use in the U.S. It uses a supercharger to provide engine boost at lower rpms and an exhaust-driven turbocharger at mid-range rpms and higher.

At the Summit, VW's Touran HyMotion hydrogen fuel cell vehicle not only shows Volkswagen's interest in this zero-emission fuel, but also showcases the company's breakthrough high-temperature fuel cell. A decade of VW hydrogen vehicle development has led to a high-temperature fuel cell that provides a more compact, lighter, and more durable fuel cell system. This technology holds great promise to make fuel cell powertrains more economical, key to future mass production.

These vehicles and many other diverse activities underscore that environment is one of Volkswagen's core values. Volkswagen of America was named the "industry's most environmentally friendly automaker" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Alternative Powertrain Study. Additionally, VW received the EU Commission's European Business Award for the Environment for its innovative Volkswagen SiCon recycling process.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.