VW to stop using Diesel engines in cars ??

J

Josall

A2OC Donor
I was having a discussion today where the topic revolved around diesel engine problems,

One point was that someone was convinced that VW are to discontinue using diesel engines in their cars from next year

Main reason being that they cannot match the emission requirements

Has anyone else heard anything to support the claim?
 
I'd say it's a load of tosh. What is interesting is that the new VW Passat can only be bought with a Diesel engine as they are the best seller with fleet with company cars. Surprised as I thought their TSI engines are brilliant and economical and would complement the diesel range.
 
Just shows how dangerous limited or misinformation can be. VAG group chair has said it is time the EU stopped legislating ever tighter regs and allowed time for manufacturers to adopt the latest requirements otherwise the costs of meeting future emmission legislation is simply going to price cars out of buyers pockets. VAG have just invested millions in updating or designing new diesel engines which are future proofed for EU7 regs.
 
There has been a lot of items in the news lately that the government (and the labour ex-government) seemed to have agreed that all of the advice given years ago to persuade people to switch to Diesel engines cars was WRONG !!!
Already there are plans to "punish" diesel owners by having higher parking fees for diesel cars that park in central Lonfon.
So whatever happens in the motor industry I firmly believe that the government will soon start to penalise diesel owners.
I am hoping that this does not lead to higher taxes on diesel fuel or increased road tax costs for diesels.

So I am not trying to say that anything at all will change but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.
Looking at the recent comments in the news, the storm clouds seem to be gathering.
I guess it makes buying a petrol A2 even more of a good idea, perhaps the values of diesel A2s will now become closer to petrol A2s

Who knows?
All I can say is that if diesel cars are taxed higher I will still be sticking with my TDI

Let's hope nothing comes of this.

Steve B
 
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Not a chance! Seems to be a lot of anti-deisel press at the moment. And as per usual it's out of date and misguided; petrols are lambasted for CO2 emissions and diesels NOx, because there's only 2 types of vehicle emissions right ;) ?
@Steve, yeah I wouldn't be surprised to see diesels taxed more but the current system is hardly fair -- I never did see the logic in it. Tax by weight perhaps? Oh to own a sub-tonne car...
 
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tagscuderia said:
Not a chance! Seems to be a lot of anti-deisel press at the moment. And as per usual it's out of date and misguided; petrols are lambasted for CO2 emissions and diesels NOx, because there's only 2 types of vehicle emissions right ;) ?
Click to expand...

I agree but this was not just the usual press dramatising a non-issue. The government spokesman (labour when they were in power) admitted on TV that they were wrong to try to persuade people to switch to diesel. It takes a lot for a politician to state that they were wrong. So this might well more that just press "noise".

As I say it is way to early to speculate about what will happen, but there is a definite shift in the way that Diesel engines cars are viewed.
But let's hope nothing comes of it.
Steve B
 
I also have a feeling the government will target Diesel owners. Not sure how, but they are planning something...
 
When it comes to paying car tax and how they can structure it fairly I still wonder why they don't just add the tax to the fuel tax.
Ok so I can inagine people saying that there is enough tax on fuel anyway. But juice gusslers would then pay more tax naturally. Cars that are economical but are driven thousands of miles a month would pay more tax. Cars that are your second or third car and parked up most of the time would pay little or no tax.

For example a Ferrari driven 1000 miles a year would pollute FAR less than an A2 that is driven 20,000 miles a year, so why tax cars on their engine efficiency when an efficient engine driven for thousands of miles is more polluting than an inefficient engine that is only driven on rare occasions.

Even leaving pollution to one side,the damage done to our roads by cars is not related to CO2 emissions etc it relates to how many miles a year the car is driven.

The negative side is SLIGHTLY higher fuel prices (and the increase would be tiny due to the billions of litres of fuel we use.)
But that aside it would surely be a fairer tax?

Steve B
 
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The possible catalyst here is France. They currently have about 70% diesel cars on the road, and are going to start increasing the fuel duty on Diesel, and start offering "diesel trade in incentives" to get people to scrap their old diesels and buy newer petrol or electric vehicles. The current Mayor of Paris has said they would like to ban all diesel vehicles from the city by 2020. They're already introducing a London-style "low emissions zone" to start getting rid of older diesel engines, and they're going to massively expand their "AutoLib" public hire electric car scheme (think Boris bikes, but for Zip Cars!).
If other EU countries followed suit, that would put a serious dent in the diesel car market, which would make it less profitable to develop and sell diesel engined cars I guess.
 
I heard through the motor trade a while back soon most are going to stop making diesel car. Petrol are so much more efficient than they use to be and far less harmful emissions Wise. Makes Sense really diesels stink and give me a headache if I'm near one that running for to long, older ones at least


Just to add I am in no way against diesel's my first car was a diesel 106 which was a good engine. And soon I will buy a vw transporter tdi for my camper project. I do hate the smell of them but that's as far as my dis like goes.
 
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I wonder where we can hold the "A2 petrol owners" celebration party!!!!

Only kidding of course but while there are bargain petrol A2s around they might seem even more atractive now.

Of course nothing will change overnight but people who were not sure if they should buy a petrol or diesel car might be swayed towards petrol now.
I think the first "step change" will be when the governments announces the penalties it will impose on diesel cars and what incentives it will give to petrol cars. That to me, will be the trigger point in the change in opinions and values perhaps.

But there will still be people who prefer diesel even if penalised. (including me) but that is not to say the petrol A2s have anything wrong with them, in fact I REALLY like the super silent engine (even when you have one with noisy tappets) I also like the super smooth gear change of the petrol cars and a FSI in full flight is very addictive. My bias is mainly due to the amazing torque and slightly better reliability. So having said that, if I was incentivised to make the change, I would be VERY happy with a 1.4 or 1.6 petrol A2.

Steve B
 
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The reality is in the real world petrol simply does not get anywhere near diesel economy. Yes, the manufacturers claim astonishing economy from the latest turbo'd petrol buzz boxes but reality shows otherwise. There is also the issue of ultra-fine PM's from petrol engines which are overlooked (conveniently) and high mileage worn petrol engines can often be more polluting than similar mileage diesels. From a personal perspective where do I buy a petrol engined car for £5k that will easily tow a 1.5tonne caravan and give 40+mpg solo commuting? I also find it hard to imagine the French of all people giving up their diesel economy cars to suit the politicians.
 
Hopefully by the time our politicians get round to this idea, our a2's will have been given classic status:D and exempt from this nonsense, classic insurance and free tax please and you get my ballot paper.
 
I agree that there should be a shift to tax on fuel and no VED. I recall some time back that some said VED was kept as it gave an annual check that a vehicle had insurance and MOT. But now VED paper licences have been dropped and the check is done in real time via cameras and number plate recognition, so that argument no longer holds.

Germany already has zoning by emissions - see this thread I started in 2010 http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?13296-Nightmare-of-getting-German-Environmental-Permit about the nightmare of getting a sticker. With a 1.4TDi 75 I only got a yellow sticker which meant I could not drive into the centre of some cities. I wonder if the regulations have been tighten since and my A2 would be a banned on even venturing into the suburbs ;)
 
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Personally I have long thought that it would be a far better and fairer system to have the VED scrapped in favour of a small tax increase on fuel (to be worked out on averages etc) I'm sure it would account for such a small amount that you would barely notice the difference, however small increases are not now a government thing, years ago when we had the gallon any chancellor that put 2p on a gallon would virtually be pilloried for doing so, nowadays 2p on a litre is a common enough move and no one seems to bat an eyelid, 4.564 litres to the gallon x2p= close to 9p a gallon. Even so a much fairer system the more you use the more you pay, no VED evasion, if you are using it you must have paid and of course the collection system is already in place, would save a fortune.
 
emmett said:
Personally I have long thought that it would be a far better and fairer system to have the VED scrapped in favour of a small tax increase on fuel ...
Click to expand...

I agree fully but it will never happen. Why scrap it when they can just add duty to fuel anyway? Those who use more still pay more and the govt get the VED, additional duty and VAT on the duty also.

I predict that the low fuel prices will provide an opportunity to pop a couple of pence on a litre (after the election).

Chris
 
I knew this was going to happen, which is why opted for the petrol all those years ago. It had absolutely nothing to do with me just losing money on a crap Alfa and being on a budget.
 
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