Australia is one market that won't see Volkswagen's Passat GTE anytime soon. The Passat GTE – a plug-in hybrid variant of Volkswagen's new-generation large car – has been launched globally, but Volkswagen Australia has informed motoring.com.au once again that the GTE remains a non-starter here.
While sister brand Audi is committed to bringing plug-in hybrid technology to Australia – and even a full-electric SUV – Volkswagen's mass-market dependency needs to see a broad turn-around in the car-buying sentiments of the Australian public before it can launch plug-in models here.
But there's some reluctance to migrate to hybrids and battery/electric vehicles in Europe as well, according to Volkswagen executive Gisela Golling, who heads up systems and functions for VW's Commercial Vehicles Division.
"Hybrid is a thing [that] depends on the customer," she said during the global launch of the Volkswagen T6 Transporter range a week ago. "We have to have a big market for hybrids..."
Ms Golling, who had previously worked on the Passat product line, said in essence that customers in Europe were slow to take up hybrid – and battery/electric – vehicles.
"We've got the e-Golf and the Passat GTE – and they're both the same technology... GTE's a little improved..."
Price sensitivity is the primary stumbling block for mass-market models in Europe, just as it is in Australia.
For the moment too, advances in electrification are relatively slow. The Passat GTE offers reasonable performance, thanks to marrying the output of its 1.4-litre TSI (direct-injected turbo-petrol four-cylinder) engine to an electric motor for combined power of 160kW. But in electric-only mode, its range is around 50km.
Owning and operating a plug-in hybrid requires a change of mindset. The Passat GTE is rated at 1.6L/100km according to the (European) NEDC combined-cycle test, but that figure is based on a test that is increasingly discredited and is contingent on frequent recharging of the on-board battery to supplement petrol power as often as possible.
Standard safety features offered in the Passat GTE – a unique level of trim within the Passat range – include LED headlights, Driver Alert System, Automatic Post-Collision Braking, Front Assist (with City Emergency Braking), rain-sensing wipers and front/rear parking sensors. The Passat GTE is also equipped as standard with 17-inch alloy wheels and a multi-function leather-bound steering wheel.