Bosch Investing Heavily in Electric and Hybrid VehiclesThe development of electric and hybrid vehicle For other types of "Hybrid Transportation", see . A hybrid vehicle (HV) is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle such as: "Despite high oil prices, the internal combustion engine Internal combustion engine A prime mover, the fuel for which is burned within the engine, as contrasted to a steam engine, for example, in which fuel is burned in a separate furnace. will remain the dominant technology over the next 20 years," Wolf-Henning Scheider, manager of Bosch's gasoline systems division, was quoted by Automotive News Europe. Bosch is investing heavily with an eye toward becoming a leading supplier of electric-drive technology. Pureelectric drives are way ahead of other alternative technologies in terms of feasibility, Scheider said at a recent workshop at Bosch's Schwieberdingen development center. Still, he wouldn't "dare cite a date" when the technology will take hold in the market. Together with Korean partner Samsung, Bosch is pouring $400 million into the development and production of lithium-ion batteries. But Scheider, who also is in charge of alternative powertrains at Bosch, feels that additional investments will be necessary in four to five years. 'We will have regular production of the first cells in 2010," he said. "The entire battery will follow in 2011." Lithium-ion batteries, considered to be die most promising technology for storing energy in electric vehicles, are very expensive. In addition, they have a life span of only two or three years, which is why hybrids and electric vehicles will remain a niche application "until at least 2015," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Scheider. About 650,000 hybrid vehicles This is a list of hybrid vehicles in chronological order of production: Early designs
All told, Bosch has deals with five automakers that involve the regular production of hybrid vehicles, and is negotiating with another five, one of which is a Korean manufacturer. The first hybrid vehicles with Bosch components will be the next generation of the Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003. It was the second utility vehicle from the automaker, after the much older Volkswagen Thing. and Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by the German automaker Porsche since 2002, and North American sales began in 2003. It is the first V8 engined vehicle built by Porsche since 1995, when the Porsche 928 was discontinued. , both due out in early 2010. © 2008 Hearst Business Publishing Provided by ProQuest LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control . All Rights Reserved.
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