Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal made a big impression on diesel sales and the company had to recall more than 11 million vehicles from around the globe. At this moment spending a fortune on diesel engines would not be a wise decision, according to many, but others may think different.
Mercedes-Benz has recently revealed first in a series of diesel car engines worth of €2.6 billion.
Revamped E-Class saloon is the first one to get this new four-cylinder and it will go on sale in March. It has been announced here in Stuttgart, Germany on Thursday by Bernhard Heil who is the head of powertrain development at Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. He further added that the new engine has 13 percent less fuel consumption than the previous engine and the nitrogen-oxide emissions are, remarkably, 80 per cent lower.
He said that “this new engine will define our diesel strategy for the next 10 years. We believe it’ll convince the public we’ll have a bright future for diesel.”
Mercedes is planning to put the new diesel engines across its model range through 2019. Four years ago Mercedes started working on this project and finally, these new engines fully comply with EU standards for emissions and consumption. Even though, the market is taking steps to add all-electric vehicles but still the German luxury car maker, Mercedes, is betting that their conventional powering system will continue to dominate the market.
Daimler is now offering battery-powered versions of the two-seat Smart city car and the Mercedes B-Class hatchback.
In this regard Heil said that “spending on the improvement of existing diesel engines brings a much greater cost-benefit efficiency that spending on electrification, that said, electrification is key to our powertrain strategy despite the cost.”
