Audi

Don’t hold your breath for a hybrid gas-electric vehicle from Audi. The company may produce one “to show people that we are able to do them,” according a few years back to Wolfgang Hatz, head of powertrains for the Volkswagen group. But so far, it has not happened. Previously Audi announced and canceled the Q5 and Q7 hybrid and has also axed for an indefinite period of time its R8 e-tron electric supercar. On the other hand, you can depend on Audi to produce clean diesel vehicles. To date, the Q7 TDI and A3 TDI are plugging away in the diesel sales chart, but not selling in numbers close to more affordable corporate siblings such as the VW Jetta, Passat and Golf diesels or even quite as well as BMW X5, Mercedes GL320 diesels. The Audi diesels do add to the mix of alternative technologies and may to a degree intensify the fight between diesel and hybrid fans for bragging rights as the cleanest and greenest car technology.