The new fuel efficiency and emission rules have started to make car manufacturers work harder to try and reduce the emissions which their models are releasing. Volkswagen has decided that it will make its entire fleet, which starts from Bentley and ends in Skoda, to now carry less weight. The VW Group have decided that by lightening the load of the cars it will help reduce Co2 emissions and boost fuel economy, without compromising performance too much.
Lighter materials have already helped cars such as the Mazda6, which grew longer and wider, but dropped 35kg. The help of lighter materials will be used to boost the performance and statistics of the upcoming Volkswagen up! minicar.
VW wants the keep the fuel consumption of the up! very low, almost as low as 3.0-litres/100km (78mpg), the up! is expected to be powered by a rear-mounted small displacement engine. The up! has already been displayed in a numerous amount of configurations, including a three-door mini hatch to a five-door micro-van. There could also be another configuration, which would be a hybrid or electric variant, which could follow in 2010, after the debut of the standard car. VW has already revealed a hybrid variant of the car, which they have called the space up! blue.