Ritik Gupta
South Korean automaker Hyundai has agreed to toss out diesel engines for its cars. The automaker has concluded to quit creating the next generation of diesel engines, effectively implying that the diesel engine is on its way out from Hyundai cars. The current crop of diesel engines will be utilized until the verge of their life cycle, which provides them with another 3-5 years before they’re thrown out in favor of electric powertrains or hybrid petrol mechanism. Hyundai intends to generate 23 full-electric cars by 2025, demonstrating how the automaker aims to put up with. For the record, Hyundai seeks to seize 8-10 percent of the electric vehicle market share globally, by 2025.
Euro 7 emission norms will come into effect sometime in 2025. This is expected to sound the death knell for diesel engines in Hyundai’s line up. With Hyundai not developing the current crop of diesel engines for Europe – one of the biggest markets on the planet for diesel – it’s improbable for the automaker to continue to develop diesel engines specifically for India – a much smaller car market than Europe. India will also have to bid farewell to Hyundai Diesels sometime in 2025 as stricter emission norms come into force.
Currently, Hyundai and its sister-automaker Kia, offer diesel engines in most of their cars. Hyundai and Kia have been outliers of sorts in India, where market leader Maruti Suzuki has dumped diesel entirely and is now focusing on petrol and petrol-hybrid cars.
In contrast, Hyundai offers diesel engines in the Grand i10 NIOS, the Aura, the Verna, the Venue, the Creta, and the Tucson. Kia also offers diesel engines in all its cars – Sonet, Seltos, and Carnival – sold here.
It’s not Hyundai alone that’s dumping diesel for other forms of car propulsion, chiefly electric. Volkswagen is steering clear of the internal combustion engine itself. By 2026, the German car giant will stop developing all forms of internal combustion engines (petrol, diesel, and CNG). Instead, it will focus on electric vehicles and other supposedly cleaner forms of propulsion. Volvo was one of the first major carmakers to signal its dumping diesel intent while Fiat Chrysler is also planning to phase out diesel in the coming years. Toyota is another leading car maker moving away from diesel, instead of putting energy into petrol-hybrid and electric cars. All in all, the writing seems to be on the wall for the diesel engine, which has enjoyed nearly three decades of growth.
Electric cars and full hybrids (petrol-electric) are likely to drive the next wave of growth in the automotive sector. They could serve as bridge technologies before fuel-cell cars take over. Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai are betting big on fuel cell-powered cars, which use hydrogen as a fuel for batteries. However, challenges such as safe hydrogen storage (a highly combustible fuel) and a nearly non-existent hydrogen dispensing network need to be solved before fuel cell-powered cars can replace electric vehicles.
