Volvo is entertaining the possibility of ditching diesel engines altogether in favour of a powertrain roadmap that, for now, includes petrol engines and petrol-electric hybrids but will also include fully electric vehicles in the future.
A report by Car&Driver reveals that Volvo CEO Hakan Sammuelsson is keen on slowly migrating the Volvo line-up of vehicles away from diesel engines, a transition that should take close to a decade to complete.
“It is a very attractive alternative to a diesel engine. It offers much lower CO2 levels but more or less the same performance in both horsepower and torque. On cost, I would say that within a couple of years we will see a crossover, the diesel getting more expensive and the (hybrid system) going down.”
This move would corroborate the details revealed with the latest concepts (the 40.1 and 40.2) from Volvo that preview the brand’s new line of premium compact saloons and crossovers. They are both built on their new CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform, which is designed to be adaptable to gasoline, hybrid or full-EV vehicles. Nowhere was diesel mentioned.
“Diesels will be more expensive, they will have much more advanced after-treatment with additional fluids that have to be filled not once a year, but probably every time you refuel the car. I think that it’s very realistic that the percentage will go down. If it will go down to zero, I think we don’t need to speculate — let the future decide, let customers decide. We are flexible enough that we can make petrol and diesels on the same line, basically,” Sammuelsson continued.
Volvo’s most recent crop of flagship vehicles, the XC90 SUV, S90 sedan, and V90 wagon, are all offered with diesel engines – they are built upon Volvo’s SPA platform. But with Volvo’s continued development in plug-in hybrids, the fuel efficiency and range gains by diesels could soon be matched or surpassed. Right now, the biggest hurdle comes down to the fact that hybrid technology still costs a significant amount and therefore comes at a higher price to the buyer.
The pressure to deliver diesel vehicles that are non-polluting enough to meet ever stricter emissions standards – while at the same time ticking all the checkboxes for so-called progress (more power, higher torque, more fuel efficient, etc) is a tall order and has caused the automotive industry as whole to collectively arrive at some harsh truths. One of which is that perhaps there is just a practical limit to how clean we can force diesel engines to be.
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