Yesterday, at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Volvo quietly announced that it had sold out of its first-year allocation of V60 diesel plug-in hybrid wagons, well before the model’s official showroom launch.
While it won’t be making the trip to the U.S., the oil-burning plug-in hybrid wagon has proven popular in Europe, with the all 1,000 of the 2013 V60 plug-in hybrid limited edition cars spoken for long before they hit dealer lots.
Based on Volvo’s existing V60 wagon, the 2013 Volvo Plug-in Hybrid is powered by a small electric motor and 2.4-liter, five-cylinder diesel engine through a six-speed automatic transmission up front, while a 52 kilowatt motor drives the rear wheels.
For short distances, the 2013 V60 plug-in hybrid operates in Pure mode as an all-electric car, offering range of around 30 miles per charge from its 12 kilowatt-hour battery.
In Hybrid mode, the car automatically chooses which power source is best, alternating between diesel engine and electric power as required, while Power mode combines engine and electric motors to produce an impressive 0-62 mph time of just under 7 seconds.
2012 Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid
While the 2013 Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid has been limited to a 1,000 car production run, Volvo says it will increase production to 5,000 cars for the 2014 model year.
But even with a larger production schedule for 2014, U.S. consumers won’t get the V60 plug-in hybrid wagon.
Instead, Volvo has hinted, it plans to offer the XC60 plug-in hybrid, a gasoline-based crossover SUV using the same plug-in hybrid technology found in its european sibling.
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