A reporter from Sweden’s Automobil was returning a Saab 9-5 to the factory in Trollhättan when he stopped at a gas station to fill the tank. And what did he spy with his little eye? A 9-3 Sedan also pulling up to the pumps, with a trunk full of batteries. When the car started up, the reporter realized that said 9-3 was also powered by a diesel engine. This has all led to speculation that Saab has picked up its previous work on a diesel hybrid powertrain.
Three years ago, in November 2007, some scribes visiting the same factory got an engineer to admit that General Motors and Saab were working on a diesel hybrid. The engineer said that “We will get everything to work together. With the next generation of hybrid we can lower the fuel consumption up to 40 percent. This is possible with the use of more electricity.” Peugeot has a diesel hybrid coming in early 2011. It will be interesting to see if Saab could get in front of that wave and reap the benefits instead of playing catch-up.
Three years ago, in November 2007, some scribes visiting the same factory got an engineer to admit that General Motors and Saab were working on a diesel hybrid. The engineer said that “We will get everything to work together. With the next generation of hybrid we can lower the fuel consumption up to 40 percent. This is possible with the use of more electricity.” Peugeot has a diesel hybrid coming in early 2011. It will be interesting to see if Saab could get in front of that wave and reap the benefits instead of playing catch-up.
[Source: Automobil via Saabs United]
