Volvo Cars To Stop Developing New Diesel Engines: CEO
Volvo will invest in electric and hybrid cars, with its first pure electric model due on the market in 2019.
Follow us on
Highlights
- The cost to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide is becoming too expensive
- Volvo will therefore invest in electric and hybrid technology
- Its first pure electric model due on the market in 2019
Swedish carmaker Volvo will not develop any new diesel engines as the cost of reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide is becoming too expensive, Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"From today's perspective, we will not develop any more new-generation diesel engines," Samuelsson told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.
Samuelsson said Volvo would keep developing current diesel-powered models introduced in 2013 to meet future emissions standards, but then the costs of keeping them compliant with higher anti-pollution standards would no longer be worth it, with the current generation likely to be produced till about 2023.
Instead, Volvo will invest in electric and hybrid cars, with its first pure electric model due on the market in 2019. "We have to recognise that Tesla has managed to offer such a car for which people are lining up. In this area, there should also be space for us, with high quality and attractive design," Samuelsson said.
Samuelsson has previously said that tighter emissions rules will push up the price of diesel-engined cars to the point where plug-in hybrids will become an attractive alternative.
The average carbon dioxide emissions limit for European carmakers' fleets will need to fall from 130 grams per kilometre to 95 grams in 2021, forcing them to invest more in exhaust emissions technology.
Diesel cars account for over 50 percent of all new registrations in Europe, making the region by far the world's biggest diesel market. Volvo, owned by China's Geely, sells 90 percent of its XC 90 offroaders in Europe with diesel engines.
The scandal over Volkswagen's cheating of US environmental tests to mask emissions of nitrogen oxides, which can cause or aggravate respiratory disease, means manufacturers are facing intense scrutiny over the true level of pollutants being emitted by their cars.
Goldman Sachs believes a regulatory crackdown could add 300 euros ($325) per engine to diesel costs that are already some 1,300 euros above their petrol-powered equivalents, as carmakers race to bring real NOx emissions closer to their much lower test-bench scores.
"From today's perspective, we will not develop any more new-generation diesel engines," Samuelsson told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.
Samuelsson said Volvo would keep developing current diesel-powered models introduced in 2013 to meet future emissions standards, but then the costs of keeping them compliant with higher anti-pollution standards would no longer be worth it, with the current generation likely to be produced till about 2023.
Instead, Volvo will invest in electric and hybrid cars, with its first pure electric model due on the market in 2019. "We have to recognise that Tesla has managed to offer such a car for which people are lining up. In this area, there should also be space for us, with high quality and attractive design," Samuelsson said.
Samuelsson has previously said that tighter emissions rules will push up the price of diesel-engined cars to the point where plug-in hybrids will become an attractive alternative.
The average carbon dioxide emissions limit for European carmakers' fleets will need to fall from 130 grams per kilometre to 95 grams in 2021, forcing them to invest more in exhaust emissions technology.
Diesel cars account for over 50 percent of all new registrations in Europe, making the region by far the world's biggest diesel market. Volvo, owned by China's Geely, sells 90 percent of its XC 90 offroaders in Europe with diesel engines.
The scandal over Volkswagen's cheating of US environmental tests to mask emissions of nitrogen oxides, which can cause or aggravate respiratory disease, means manufacturers are facing intense scrutiny over the true level of pollutants being emitted by their cars.
Goldman Sachs believes a regulatory crackdown could add 300 euros ($325) per engine to diesel costs that are already some 1,300 euros above their petrol-powered equivalents, as carmakers race to bring real NOx emissions closer to their much lower test-bench scores.
© Thomson Reuters 2017
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Stay updated with automotive news and reviews right at your fingertips through carandbike.com's Google News
Related Articles
Volvo To Sell Its Stake In Lynk & Co; Zeekr To Acquire Majority Stake
Actor Mandira Bedi Takes Delivery Of Her New Volvo C40 Recharge
Volvo EX90 Electric SUV Production Commenced
Volvo's Taizhou Plant Transitions To Biogas To Achieve Climate Neutrality
Volvo's Final Diesel Car Rolls Off Production Line; Headed To A Museum
Latest News
Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350 vs Classic 350: Differences Explained
Hyundai Ioniq 9 Electric SUV Revealed: 3 Rows Of Seats, 620 Km Range
Honda’s Electric Scooter For India To Feature Two Swappable Batteries
Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350: In Pictures
Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350 Unveiled; Launch On November 23
Stellantis Unveils New STLA Frame Architecture For Body-On-Frame SUVs, Pick-Up Trucks
Brixton Cromwell 1200, Cromwell 1200 X: In Pictures
Jeep Wrangler 4Xe Willys 41 Unveiled; Pays Homage To Iconic Willys Jeep
Lexus ES Facelift Unveiled At 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show
Brixton Crossfire 500 X, Crossfire 500 XC: In Pictures
