Hybrid Hot Hatchbacks Are Incoming From The Volkswagen Group

The next generation of hot hatchbacks to come out of the Volkswagen Group will be petrol-electric hybrids.

In an effort to convince people like you that electrification is the way to go, and can be exciting, the likes of Seat’s Cupra division and Skoda’s vRS equivalent will reportedly hit electrification hard.

Speaking to Autocar, Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier was asked about a future Fabia vRS and said:

“The Fabia vRS was a lot of fun and I would love to be able to offer such a car today, but it is not going to be manageable for the next two to three years.

“For the next generation of Fabia, there could be an alternative – we could look at the opportunities a bit differently.

Autocar pressed the issue and Maier confirmed that electrification for the next Fabia vRS “would make sense.”

We don’t have even the tiniest detail about what shape the hybrid system would take, other than that it would use petrol, not diesel like the much-loved first-generation version, pictured above.

A small, fast hatch is seen as ‘crucial’ to the vRS brand, though, as it tries to make the switch to electricity. Seat’s Cupra brand is said to be thinking much the same thing, so expect a hybrid Ibiza Cupra around 2020 or so.

Volkswagen already has the Golf GTE, a plug-in hybrid that uses a 148bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 99bhp electric motor for a 201bhp total output. It launches to 62mph in 7.6 seconds and tops out at 138mph.

Source: Autocar