Volkswagen Shows Off Its Hydrogen Ride

Volkswagen's hydrogen fuel cell Tiguan made its North American debut today, and it's a pretty slick bit of kit even if it won't appear in showrooms anytime soon, if at all.

Although the company was also showing off its upcoming diesel Jetta TDI and talking a lot about the TDI Cup diesel racing series it sponsors, the Tiguan HyMotion was clearly the star of the show. It's an advancement over the HyMotion Touran it replaces, but company officials made it clear they aren't betting on hydrogen alone to save us.

"There isn't one technology, one fuel, that will provide the answer," John Tillman, who leads VW's advanced powertrain division in the U.S, told Wired.com. "We have multiple technologies. This is just one of them."

The company is pushing clean diesel in a big way and expects it to comprise 30 percent of its sales within a decade. But, like a growing number of automakers, it believes "the electric motor is the ideal prime mover for sustainable economy," and Tillman says VW is working on hybrid and battery electric drivetrains.more