WOLFSBURG, GERMANY - Volkswagen AG said it will introduce a hybrid version of the Jetta in the U.S. market in 2012.

Starting in 2013, the E-Up will go into production. The E-Up zero-emission electric concept car generated plenty of buzz at last year's Frankfurt Auto Show. The car's electric drivetrain is composed of an 18-kWh lithium-ion battery and an electric motor capable of outputting 60 kW (80 hp).

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, the automaker's use of hybrid technology in production vehicles is being demonstrated in the Touareg Hybrid. Next year, Volkswagen will introduce a test fleet of 500 Golfs with electric drives.

"The goal is to become the market leader in E-mobility by the year 2018," said Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the board at Volkswagen AG. "We want to attain an electric vehicle market share of 3 percent within our entire range of products."

Winterkorn added that the company intends to "take the hybrid out of its niche status with our high-volume models. In the future, the heart of the brand will also beat with electricity." The Jetta Hybrid will debut in August 2012, the Passat Hybrid in August 2013, and two months later the Golf Hybrid.

Volkswagen's various brands will be conducting field studies in strategic markets of Europe, North America and China in upcoming months.

"An important intermediate step here is group-wide implementation of hybrid technology in production vehicles," the company said. "In Geneva, Volkswagen is therefore showcasing its technological competence in hybrid development and is already introducing the new Touareg Hybrid."

The company's strategy is to integrate hybrid and E-drives over a variety of vehicle platforms in all of the group brands, said Karl-Thomas Neumann, group chief officer for electric traction. "We will continue to systematically exploit the potential of internal combustion engines with the goal of significantly reducing fuel consumption and emissions. So over the mid-term, vehicles with electric drives and those with internal combustion engines will co-exist."