Just five years ago, only Toyota and Honda offered hybrid gas-electric vehicles—the Prius and Insight, respectively. Now, there are more than a dozen carmakers—including Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Volkswagen—that offer, or have plans for, hybrids. Here’s a roundup of news just over the last few days about hybrids coming from the homeland of Rudolph Diesel. Audi Q5 Hybrid (2010) Audi Q5 Hybrid At last month’s Detroit Auto Show , Audi announced that it would offer a Q5 Hybrid. Hybrid versions of the Q5 and Q7 have been on and off the table several times in the past year. Now, it’s back on. The new small sport utility goes on sale in the US next month with a gasoline engine; the hybrid will follow for 2011. Audi still strongly prefers diesels to cut consumption and emissions, since they cost less to develop and build than hybrids. Its lukewarm attitude surfaces in a quote from Wolfgang Hatz, head of powertrain development for the VW group. “We have to do hybrids to show people that we are able to do them,” he said, noting the Q5 would compete with the Lexus RX450h . We’ll see if Audi takes its hybrids seriously. BMW 7-Series ActiveHybrid BMW 7-Series ActiveHybrid The maker of “ultimate driving machines” will offer a mild hybrid sedan, the 7-Series ActiveHybrid, to face off against the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid. Like the Benz, it will use a lithium ion battery pack to add stop-start capability to its V8 engine, for about a 15 percent bump in fuel economy. BMW is now just finishing up with prototype testing . read more

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German Hybrids: Coming Thick And Fast