Volvo ditches diesel

Volvo has become the first European car manufacturer to confirm it will no longer develop new diesel engines.

Amid continuing fallout following Volkswagen's "dieselgate" emissions cheating cover-up that broke in September 2015, Volvo has decided to pull the pin on oil-burning engines.

"We don't have any plans to develop a next diesel engine," said Lutz Stiegler, a senior powertrain engineer at Volvo.

The news comes despite still-strong sales of diesel cars and SUVs in many European countries – largely due to tax concessions – and partly due to higher development costs associated with diesel engines.

"We don’t see the need for it," Stiegler told motoring,com.au in Spain, during the launch of the new XC60 SUV.

That vehicle is available with the company's – now last ever – 2.0-litre diesel engine which is, ironically, expected to be a top-seller.

It appears that following the dieselgate scandal, which threatens to also engulf Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler and other car-makers in varying degrees, many brands are showing signs of distancing themselves from diesel power.

Volvo is leading the charge and the Scandinavian company appears unlikely to offer diesel-powered passengers cars in around 10 years' time, once the company's existing 2.0-litre turbo-diesel outlives its usefulness.

"I do not want to speculate but an engine generation definitely lives for 10 years or so. Now we are in 2017. In 10 years from now by 2027 who knows what trends are happening?

"It depends so much on what the market is demanding, what government policy is, legal requirements and so on," said Stiegler.

Stiegler ruled out the need for a three-cylinder turbo-diesel, the company instead turning its focus to electrification, such as plug-in hybrid and EV powertrains.

"XC40 will be the first model for that [1.5-litre] engine, yes. That is petrol only. We will not make a three-cylinder diesel. It does not make any sense from our point of view," said the Volvo powertrain expert.

"We just launched the new [four-cylinder] diesel engine family and we will develop that to cope with the next emissions legislations. But there's no three-cylinder plan on the diesel side."

Increasing emission regulations will make diesel engines significantly more expensive to develop than previously. The public outcry in the wake of the dieselgate scandal hasn't helped the diesel cause either.

Even so, many global markets and especially SUV segments have strong demand for diesel engines. Volvo could take a hit by adopting its diesel-less strategy, but Stiegler suggests the popularity of diesel engines will wane.

"The coming emission legislation makes diesel more expensive. In smaller cars in the future it's safe to say that diesel will not dominate that segment."

The alternative for Volvo – hybrid and EV – is still very expensive and the Scandinavian car brand will have many hurdles as it transitions to a diesel-less product range.

"We have a long-term strategy that focuses on electric mobility, but what we do until this strategy is in place and customers are willing to pay for electric mobility, that's the question," said Stiegler.

There will be many missed opportunities and potentially the loss of customers by axing its diesel engine program, but there is a silver lining, insists the Volvo engineer.

By dumping diesel, the car-maker frees up hundreds of millions of research and development dollars, which can instead be pumped into next-generation electric powertrains.

"Yes of course. the intention is to put all the focus on electrification. Sooner or later it will take off. We need to be there.

"At the end of the day it's always the market that decides. Right now it’s the same problem for everyone. It's difficult to predict. Everyone wants to be prepared for everything. Our decision is that electro-mobility will be at least a big share in the future."

While Volvo is the first European car-maker to ditch diesel, many major cities around the world are already planning to ban diesel cars, including Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens, to improve air quality and reduce health risks.

More major cities are expected to follow, with London weighing up its options and Paris already implementing bans on older cars entering the city.