Volvo says diesel’s dead by 2020, but Audi’s confident of longevity.
Since the eruption of the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal, the long-time favourite fuel of choice for long-haulers and economy-nuts (that’s diesel, by the way) has been weathering a lot of flak over its pollution levels. Loved by many, diesel propulsion offers great amounts of torque and unrivalled pulling ability, while also returning reasonable fuel consumption regardless of the capacity.
Of course, diesel is also synonymous with soot, as many users will tell you that oil-burners produce a remarkable amount of soot over the long-term. which further perpetuates the argument that diesel has no place in the future of mobility. Volvo certainly thinks so, with CEO Hakan Samuelsson confident that oil-burners will be dead by 2020.
Speaking at the Geneva motor show, he said that with the lifespan of diesel is short now, resulting in continuously-increasing costs of development and research to keep oil-burners competitive. The weakening business case for diesels is why Samuelsson has remarked that diesels won’t be offered by Volvo after 2020. So what’s next for Volvo?
“After 2020, I think the situation is more open – then electrification can play a bigger role. And, depending of course on customer preferences, the cost of the batteries and then the charging infrastructure, we’ll see how fast electrification [eventuates].” Tightening regulations on emissions also plays a factor in dropping diesel, with companies legally required to reduce the average emissions of their product ranges to 95g/km of CO2 by 2020. Diesels “cannot help us” he said, should emissions regulations tighter further than that, as they inevitably do.
On the flip-side, Audi’s board chairman Rupert Stadler has communicated his confidence in diesels, despite the brand facing legal action by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission over its claimed emissions figures. Speaking on diesel, Stadler said, “I have a very clear position on that. There are a lot of critics out in the market when it comes to diesel. I’m no politician, you know. I’m not and we have to take positions in favour of our customer. And the customer demands, and the customer decides.”
When posed with the reality that some cities and municipalities are banning diesel vehicles outright, he said, “Yeah, there are probably cities who decide whatever they want to decide. But we have to decide in favour of the customers, and the customer also should be happy in that urban environment to say ‘Yes, it meets my desires, or not.” Maybe diesel is an answer, or no answer. I’m not a politician.”
Stadler did say that some of the demand for diesels could be fulfilled by efficient petrol engines in the short term, but remains confident that diesels will command marketshare in the long term. “We all know that in the next ten years, we will have maybe 30% pure electric vehicles, but there will still remain a 70% of combustion vehicles. This is fact. We cannot ignore the reality.”
“But we should now not sacrifice the diesel only because there is a big discussion about that one. People still love the diesel because of good range, torque, fuel economy. We should at least try to accept that,” Stadler remarked. “I would say that, looking a little bit towards the future, the diesel engineering & development will bring higher cost burden also to the diesel, but also to the gasoline engines with particulate filters.”
So while Audi remains steadfast on its commitment to diesel, Volvo has made it clear that its days are numbered. Which side do you sit on in this argument, or do you have a third alternative? Let us know in the comments below.
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