Audi Doesn’t Think Its Next Generation Hybrid System Is Suitable For Americans

Audi unveiled its next-generation mild hybrid system, named MHEV Plus, this week. According to Audi, the next upgraded hybrid system will enhance both performance and fuel economy with its combination of a powertrain generator (PTG), belt alternator starter (BAS), a lithium iron phosphate battery, and a 48-volt mild hybrid system. Initially, the new hybrid system will appear on the new Audi A5 and Q5 and, as it’s a modular system, it won’t be a surprise to see it graduate to other models down the road. But, the twist is that MHEV Plus versions will not make it to the US market due to what Audi describes as « differing customer needs. »

Audi

Audi is a German automaker that produces a range of luxury vehicles that combine sporty driving dynamics with the latest technology. Its history goes back over 100 years and includes both production cars and a rich racing heritage.

Founded

1909

Founder

August Horch

Headquarters

Ingolstadt, Germany

Owned By

Volkswagen Group

Current CEO

Gernot Döllner

Major And Sophisticated Hybrid Upgrades

The key upgrade on the MHEV system is the Powertrain Generator, which is built directly on the output shaft of the transmission and adds close to 24 horsepower to the system and assists the regenerative braking system. It also adds to the immediate torque available from a standstill while remaining active up to 86 mph. To get every assist possible, the belt alternator starter also feeds the 48-volt mild-hybrid system’s lithium-ion battery.

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Things get more complicated, and smarter, with the hybrid system’s software taking the selected transmission mode and use of the accelerator pedal to decide which part of the system the car will lean on most. For example, the full 18 kW from the powertrain generator is only available at 80 percent throttle input. When driving on a highway or freeway at consistent speeds, the powertrain generator can be decoupled to prevent electrical losses from the electric motor. In Sport mode, it remains coupled to the system to improve responsiveness from the throttle.

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In Drive mode, the system seeks to maintain a state of charge of 50 to 55 percent as the optimal balance for having enough battery-provided energy to assist the combustion engine or switch to electric-only driving. According to Audi, the system will save an average between 7.4 and 8.0 liters of fuel per 100 km over the diesel-powered 2.0-liter V6 A5 model in Europe, which roughly translates to 2.1 gallons per 62.1 miles. That’s a huge saving over an already reasonably fuel-efficient powertrain; translating from European measurements to US, the A5 2.0 TDI gets around 43 mpg.

Audi’s New Hybrid Not Coming To The US Because Of Customer Demands

Audi also brings up the reduction in emissions over distance, which may go some way to explain why the system won’t come to the US – the initial cost of such a system introduced to a market that is about to roll back its emissions standards may be nonsensical to Audi. However, the US market is swinging hard towards hybrids for the fuel savings. Despite the current president’s economic promises during his campaign, fuel prices are unlikely to drop.

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Hopefully, it’s just a case of Audi seeing how things play out rather than not intending to bring the new system over here, but unfortunately, the issue is more basic than that. When we drove the 2025 Audi S5 last year, Audi’s representatives gave us two reasons for US-spec models getting a different powertrain:

American buyers won’t be comfortable with the engine switching off at highway speeds as the MHEV engages a ‘coasting’ function.

The stop/start system and switchover between electric propulsion and combustion drive at low speeds are too jerky.

For similar reasons, VW is now giving US buyers a torque converter automatic rather than a sharper dual-clutch.