VOLKSWAGEN AG 
By Wolfsburg / Frankfurt, 13 September 2011 - The victory at the “Think Blue. 2011 World Championship” goes to Gilbert Plank from Austria. The winner prevailed in final judging against competitors from nine countries. The winner covered a 632 kilometre route with the lowest fuel consumption. He will be honoured for its performance at the Volkswagen brand’s press conference at the IAA today, Tuesday.
Despite a loaded boot and an additional two passengers, the winner only used 3.75 litres of fuel per 100 km to drive the Golf BlueMotion.
The competition is part of the "Think Blue." initiative by Volkswagen that promotes the theme of environmentally-friendly behaviour in everyday living. By 2018, Volkswagen wants to be the global leader among automobile manufacturers in addressing environmental and economic issues, and it is using the "Think Blue." initiative to generate ideas on how to responsibly utilise resources worldwide.
At the IAA, Volkswagen is now presenting its entire range of fuel-saving technologies and models: including the up! – the new city specialist – in a pure electric drive version and a natural gas powered version – as well as the Volkswagen BlueMotion fleet.
This year, over 4,000 people across the globe – in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, China, Japan and Australia – participated in Volkswagen’s fuel-saving championships. The competition route of the international finals took participants from Berlin to Dresden and finally to the IAA in Frankfurt. At intermediate checkpoints, participants had to perform in additional tests related to environmental and sustainability issues.
Participants are driving the especially fuel-saving Golf BlueMotion. The vehicle is equipped with a standard 5-speed manual gearbox optimised for fuel economy and has standard features that include alloy wheels with low rolling resistance tyres and a Stop/Start system with battery regeneration to recover braking energy. The car’s combined fuel consumption (NEDC) is about 3.8 l /100 km, and CO2 emissions are 99 g/km.
You will find more information about the fuel-saving competition and about "Think Blue.www.mythinkblue.de.
