2015 Audi Q7: The Hybrid Diesel Revolution?

Audi will soon introduce a new challenger to the green car movement and it’s a diesel. Expected at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, an updated version of the Audi Q7 is sure to turn some heads. The rarity is that this vehicle will be offered with a three-liter diesel engine partnered with an electric engine. The result is a theoretical monster of a car. The Hybrid SUV produces 369 horsepower and Clydesdale-like 516 foot-pounds of torque. This offering by Audi will come at a time when Hybrid and Electric cars are trending upward.

Part of the resurgence for green machines is due to the popularity of Tesla Motors, as well as Volvo. The California-based electric car company has certainly made EVs a popular part of the headlines. However, what the company does is create energy efficient vehicles, which are quite fast, the exact direction which Audi appears to be following with the new Q7. Volvo, a company not as well known for performance machines as much as safety, is a competitor to Audi with their own electric diesel combo. The Volvo V60 diesel hybrid has 283 horsepower and 472 foot-pounds of torque. It seems that in order to attract customers from purely gasoline engines, its necessary to add some power to the energy-efficient machines.

The competition between luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Volvo and Tesla will only become more intense when Tesla tries to drop the price of their car. Right now a Tesla Model S can be purchased for between $70,000 and $100,000. Those numbers are close to the cost of high-end offerings from their competitors.

However, with the construction of the new Tesla Gigafactory, the price of a Tesla Model III is expected to drop to around $35,000. Will the vehicle cause a shake-up in the green car market or will it simply compete with midlevel sedans? Is it possible that a lower-priced electric sedan will drive down luxury brand hybrid or electric prices? Why do you think that hybrid diesels haven’t caught on in the United States? What’s next in the green vehicle space?