The VW Group may have been forced to abandon the diesel engine following the dieselgate scandal, but not all is lost for diesel fans. Here in the United States, diesel engines are making a comeback, but it isn’t a European automaker leading the charge, both Ford and General Motors have jumped on the bandwagon.
General Motors is so committed to the diesel engine that it’s currently developing a new lineup of diesel engines that will be offered worldwide, including in the U.S. The first of these new diesel engines was announced earlier this year for the 2019 Chevy Silverado. The 3.0L six-cylinder diesel engine is expected to help push the Silverado over the 30 mpg mark.
GM is also working on new three- and four-cylinder diesel engines at its GM Powertrain Torino facility in Turin, Italy. “We have an important strategy around diesel. We are working to keep [U.S. sales] increasing,” Pierpaolo Antonioli, head of GM’s Turin development center told Automotive News Europe.
Currently GM offers diesel engines in the Chevy Cruze and Equinox models in the U.S., but those PSA sourced engines will soon be replaced by GM’s new diesel engines that are being developed from the modular Cylinder Set Strategy.
Even though the word “diesel” may seem like a dirty word now, GM is confident that it can leverage the technology. “Everybody was caught a little bit by surprise by the scandal,” Antonioli stated. “It took time to react and start to say that diesel is not the dirty guy. In my opinion its reputation can be recovered.”
Source: Automotive News
