Hybrids are expensive. The MK6 Jetta was briefly available as a hybrid with a 1.4L TSI engine (2014-2017) and discontinued due to poor sales.Well yeah. There is CAFE issue too. VW doesn’t have slew of hybrids etc. to offset engine like this. But, their strategy was always too hectic and dieselgate really messed them up. 2.5 was introduced to be competition to simple Asian products. They could update engine to make it emission compatible, but by then they changed strategy.
Think about the fact ghat in Europe they have hybrids on the roads for a long time, and here they are trying to reinvent the wheel.
The funny thing about the Germans is they were against hybrids, as they had their diesels to fall on to advertise fuel economy benefits, but not necesssarily emissions, as Euro emissions got more and more stringent, they had to suck up their pride and develop gas-hybrids.