Do diesel cars have a long-term future" That depends which senior auto executive you back into a corner and ask the question to. You?ll get some radically different answers suggesting the future is being viewed through a particularly opaque mirror. Volvo has previously told us that it sees compression ignition?s days as being numbered, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reckons that diesel will die out even in Europe. But based on a conversation at the Detroit auto show with Mercedes R&D chief Ola Källenius, it?s clear that Mercedes thinks diesels will be around for a long while yet.
There?s a but, though: Diesel-engined cars are likely to find themselves increasingly limited to their European heartland. ?I think it does have a relevant place, but the market for diesel is in Europe,? he told us. ?As we are proving with the new-generation diesel engine that we?ve put into the E-class, we will develop even more innovative engines that are very lean as far as emissions and fuel economy are concerned.? Europe?s insistence that automakers continue to dramatically reduce their models? CO2 emissions remains the biggest factor driving future diesel developments. Put simply, it?s not possible for larger gasoline engines to get close to the tighter targets without substantial?and costly?hybrid assistance.
?Diesel does have a 15  to 20 percent advantage over a gasoline engine on CO2, depending on your driving profile,? Källenius said. ?In the European context of the 2020 sta...