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Parent Company: Volkswagen Fleet MPG: 20.78 MPG Hybrids/Alt Fuel: 0 Models Over 30 MPG: 2 Models EPA Smartway Certified: 3 Vehicles Greenopia Environment Achievement:
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Although there are no hybrids available in the US from Volkswagen, all things considered, VW offers a wide selection of cars for the green-minded. VW has 6 cars that get at least 30 miles per gallon on the highway and has an array of alternative fuel vehicles in production and on the horizon. One green vehicle that VW is especially proud of is their clean diesel TDI line. Not only do these cars get great mileage, but they also have extremely low emissions compared with traditional gasoline vehicles. One drawback to this fuel type, however, is the refinement burden for purifying this diesel. Presently, no comprehensive information exists about the overall environmental gain for using clean diesel, but we can be certain it’s better than a normal combustion engine. VW performs very well in the reporting side of the equation. VW has taken several steps to be greener (offsets, the VW forest), consumers can also track the overall environmental performance of the company, but sadly not the impacts of each vehicle that is being produced. Without knowing the per vehicle emissions we cannot see if VW is truly becoming more efficient. VW tracks environmental indicators in most plants, but some of the information is not as complete as many automakers. Looking at the data, emissions and energy usage have actually increased for VW, which they claim is because of higher production, but one cannot see if that is the only reason without more complete data or data per vehicle produced. One area that VW should be greatly applauded, however, is the end of life design. VW does a great job with end of life recycling and have some of the highest recovery rates in the industry. Audi scores reasonable well in combined fleet emissions with just under 21mpg. Audi has 2 cars that get over 30mpg on the highway, but no hybrids yet (the Q7 hybrid is set to release soon). Audi has an average score in emissions based off EPA data and also has 3 SmartWay vehicles. |
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