The car of the future:

The pollution caused by the global growth in road traffic is creating increasing environmental damage. Today, 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions already stem from the exhausts of automobiles and trucks. Yet people’s desire for individual mobility will remain unchecked in the future. How are carmakers responding to this challenge? This question is answered by Professor Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Director of the Center of Automotive Research at the University of Applied Sciences in Gelsenkirchen.

Professor Dudenhöffer, what kind of engine will power the cars of the year 2020? The predominant propulsion system in 2020 will continue to be the internal combustion engine, supported by hybrid systems. Diesel and petrol engines still have a great future ahead of them. However, this dividing line will no longer exist. Engine developers working at suppliers and manufacturers are already designing engines that will run on both types of fuel and combine the clean burn of a petrol engine with the economy of a diesel engine.

Nonetheless, environmentally concerned drivers regard the hybrid engine as a kind of wonder weapon. What makes the combined electric motor and internal combustion engine such an interesting proposition?