Is This The End Of The Road For Diesel Engines?

Swedish carmaker Volvo plans to try and eliminate diesel engines from its lineup altogether with its brand new T5 hybrid powertrain as it combats increasingly draconian emission norms.

While other companies have turned to turbocharging with electric compressors and other such tricks to beat the increasingly stricter diesel emission laws, Volvo has come up with an unconventional hybrid system that may get rid of diesel engines in the future.

The conventional side of the powertrain is a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that produces 180bhp. The unconventional side of the powertrain is a 78bhp motor that only sends its power to one of the input shafts of the dual-clutch gearbox(specifically the one that controls 2nd, 4th, 6th and reverse).

Speaking to Autocar UK about the new hybrid engine, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson "It is a very attractive alternative to a diesel engine," said in Gothenburg. "It offers much lower CO2 levels but more or less the same performance in both horsepower and torque.

Volvo claim that the motor which is connected to 9.7kWh battery pack can power the car for 48 kilometers without any help from the engine.

Volvo insiders have told Autocar that the new system will manage substantially better than 95g/km of CO2 on official tests and deliver a diesel-rivalling mileage in real-world use.

The new engine will be used on all of the 40 series vehicles and will also make their way onto the larger 60 series of vehicles as well.

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