The downtrend on diesels has grown quite rapidly in the wake of the ‘dieselgate’ scandal that revealed how Volkswagen was manipulating emissions testing for its TDI engines, affecting millions of vehicles worldwide.
Chinese automaker Haval doesn’t want anything to do with that bag of worms, and is committed to its petrol and petrol-hybrid roadmap with diesels nowhere in sight. It’s quite a bold statement to make, especially given how diesel engines are so prevalent in SUVs, which is the only type of vehicle Haval builds.
Haval Motors Australia Chief Marketing Officer Tim Smith, said: “The R&D experts at HAVAL have declared the future for the company will be powered by turbocharged petrol engines. In the very near future that will be complemented by a mix of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains,”
He continued: ““The debate about diesel power was a long and robust one. Ultimately the future of that fuel has been decided by the market, the actions of other companies and a growing push for more stringent clean air policies. Our team of engineers made a clear case they believe the development of diesel engines had reached its zenith and the era of smaller, more fuel efficient petrol engines and powerful hybrid and electric engines was upon us.”
The most recent headway Haval made that we can point to in improving the overall efficiency of their SUVs is the introduction of Getrag-sourced double-clutch transmission in their H6 (after debuting in the H7), due to arrive in Australia in September. This new transmission should improve fuel frugality over the torque converter automatics they currently use.
Of course, other manufacturers are still very much invested in diesel powertrains, investing in new ways to circumvent the inherently particulate-dense nature of the fuel by new filter tech and exhaust gas recirculation, to name a few. Daimler, PSA, and even Volkswagen aren’t abandoning the diesel in the face of stricter regulations.
Time will tell if they succeed and/or how much they would have to lean on electric augmentation to fulfil meet these new standards.
