Environmental Commendation For Volkswagen's TSI Engines

WOLFSBURG - March 8, 2010: Volkswagen’s TSI engines have been awarded the environmental commendation certified by TÜV Nord, following in the footsteps of the dual-clutch transmission DSG. The Life Cycle Assessment on which the commendation is based confirms that the TSI engines have significantly improved environmental characteristics compared with the predecessor models throughout their life cycle thanks to their smaller engine size and lower fuel consumption – while at the same time evidencing higher driving dynamics.

After a plethora of awards – including three prestigious “Engine of the Year Awards” last year – TSI technology has now also received the environmental commendation certified by TÜV Nord. After the DSG dual-clutch transmission, this, the second of the three basic technologies in the BlueMotion Technologies brand, has confirmed its outstanding Life Cycle Assessment. BlueMotion Technologies is the Volkswagen umbrella brand for all environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient products and technologies. Thanks to a reduction in engine capacity, sometimes quite substantial, the TSI engines significantly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

For the environmental commendation, a 1.4 TSI engine with 90 kW was compared with a 1.6 FSI engine with 85 kW. A second test compared a 1.2 TSI with 77 kW and a 1.6 MPI engine with 75 kW. The environmental commendations, which are based on Life Cycle Assessments pursuant to ISO 14040/44, investigate the environmental characteristics of vehicles or technologies throughout their entire life cycle, i.e. from manufacture through use to recycling. The environmental commendation is only issued if the overall performance of the new development is better than that of the respective predecessor.

A 16-page brochure about the environmental commendation for the TSI engines is available from all Volkswagen dealers in Germany from March 8th, 2010. Complementary copies can be ordered by calling 0800-8977277. The environmental commendation can also be downloaded from the Internet at www.environmental-commendation.de. A background report presenting the methods and data is also available from the Internet