We are talking about the start of production in China of EA211 power units, which will work as a generator in hybrid cars of the German brand, Carscoops reports. This technology will debut on Volkswagen’s flagship ID hybrid SUV. Era 9X, pre-orders for which will begin in March. The development of the unit has been carried out since 2020.
Li Auto, a pioneer of hybrid technology in China, took the launch of these engines as an opportunity to recall the old controversy. The Chinese company’s director of social communications scathingly congratulated Volkswagen on “successfully mass-producing a technology that is “outdated, very environmentally unfriendly and has little prospects for development.”
This attack is an echo of the confrontation that happened in 2020. Then the head of Volkswagen China, Stefan Wellenstein, called hybrid technologies with a gasoline generator extremely unenvironmentally friendly, and the head of R&D Volkmar Widmann declared them outdated and unpromising.
In response, Li Auto invited journalists to compare the real fuel consumption and driving impressions of its Li One with hybrids from Audi and Porsche (also part of the VW group), pointing out that the Germans simply do not have a direct competitor.
By the end of 2021, Li Auto founder Li Xiang proudly announced that sales of one of his models exceeded the combined sales of five Volkswagen SUV models in China.
The head of Volkswagen’s sales and marketing department chose not to engage in controversy, diplomatically thanked “all Chinese automotive professionals for their efforts” and expressed hope for a joint contribution to the progress of the industry.
It was previously reported that UAZ would rename the SUV for the first time in the history of the Hunter model.
