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Well, as we've been telling you this hour, the eurozone is on shaky ground economically.

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The region's largest economy, Germany, has stalled.

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But, German car manufacturers are trying not to slow down any time soon and are trying to find as much revenue as they can in new ways.

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Fred Pleitgen has been reporting on German businesses.

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He's live in Berlin at this hour for one of our special features.

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And Fred, one of the things that German car manufacturers are looking to is sort of eco-friendly engines.

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That is not what you associate with Porsche and BMW, etc., but that's what they're looking at. Tell us how.

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You're absolutely right, Hala.

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And we're here, of course, for the Made in Germany series, where we take a look at what makes this very large economy tick.

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And one of the things, of course, that's especially important for the automobile industry is, as you said, innovation.

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Now, the Germans have always been big... great at making, you know, big horsepower high-end cars, but one of the things that you wouldn't necessarily associate with them is eco-friendliness.

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But, that's something that they are certainly taking a look at, because they know that innovation is the only thing that will keep them ahead of the curve,

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even some automakers we wouldn't necessarily associate with things like plug-in hybrids, for instance. Let's have a look.

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Eight hundred eighty-seven horsepower, zero to 60 miles an hour in 2.5 seconds and the record lap for a road car on Germany's Nurburgring Racetrack.

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The Porsche 918 Spyder is a superfast super sports car, but there's one thing you probably wouldn't expect -- it's also a hybrid.

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Frank-Steffen Walliser heads the 918 project and he says he's amazed by the performance of hybrid technology.

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With the extra boost we get from the electric motors, we really increase tremendously the drivability with the four-wheel drive and also the push of the car.

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The 918 uses the most advanced technology, but it's manufactured in the most classic German way --

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by hand in a workshop at Porsche's headquarters in Stuttgart.

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The concept they use here at Porsche is "one man, one motor." That means a single worker is responsible for building an entire engine.

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That takes a lot of time, where a regular engine might take three to four hours to build; one of these takes about 20 hours.

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This is a limited series. Porsche will only build exactly 918 of these road racers that cost over a million dollars apiece.

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But the program's director says electric and hybrid engines in sports cars are here to stay.

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The CO2 reduction in general is the most important debate in the whole automotive industry, transport industry. 

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Hybrid will take over a significant share of the market as it gives you the opportunity to go fully electric --

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especially if you're a plug-in hybrid -- fully electric in the city.

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And for long distance you can use the whole... the same car.

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Other German car makers have made major advances in alternative propulsion technology as well.

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BMW is leading the way with the fully electric i3 and the hybrid sports car i8.

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And Mercedes will soon introduce the B-Class Electric Drive with a range of up to 200 kilometers.

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Alternative power trains are extremely important for Germany, considering the auto industry here employs almost 900,000 people.

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The German auto industry for Germany is the key industry, the key innovator, etc.

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So, alternative drive systems are very important for us

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because it dictates how well the cars function, how their sustainability and environmental acceptability [are]

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and, of course, how well they sell.

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The auto industry knows it needs to innovate to remain competitive, and superfast hybrids are one piece in that strategy.