With the new emission norms just around the corner, most of the companies have given up on making BS6 compliant diesel engines. Volkswagen, however, has stated that they will not give up on their diesel engines and they will make a comeback albeit in only some models.
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In an interaction with a leading publisher Steffan Knapp, Director of Volkswagen passengers cars in India said that “Our TDI is a fantastic engine. They are fantastic to drive and we as a group are continuing to invest in this technology. If you go to the big cars, I believe there is room for it (diesel). We said that we are initially going with petrol-only to make a clear statement, but we are at the same time looking into the 2.0-litre TDI technology.”
He further said that “Look at Volkswagen. We are mainly represented in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. And those people are not driving many kilometres. So I think in our case, it makes sense to start with TSI (petrol).” This further cements the point that they are currently going to release only petrol variants complying to BS6 norms.
Volkswagen BS6 lineup currently has no diesel variants and it is highly unlikely to change soon. This means that diesel engines might make a comeback however it is uncertain as to when. The new diesel engines that might come will not be coming to smaller cars as it is not economically feasible for the company.
The main problems major companies have with the new BS6 norms for diesel engines is the very costly exhaust treatment system which will now be forced by the new norms. This is not feasible for diesel engines and it increases the costs a lot making the new engines not worth the hassle. It has also been noted that the sales for smaller cars with a diesel engine have been going down since BS6 norms were announced letting companies know that consumers are not interested in them.
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