While Renault is edging away from diesel engines, Mercedes-Benz says diesel-powered vehicles still have a future and that it would be “stupid” to ditch them.
Speaking with Autocar at the Paris Auto Show, company boss Dieter Zetsche said that while VW’s diesels are in trouble, those from Mercedes can be as clean as petrol powertrains all while emitting fewer carbon emissions.
“This continues to be a key issue even though at this moment in time everyone is talking about NOx. We are seeing a highly emotional, political and illogical kind of discussion, but when you look at the facts and the technological potential, it would be absolutely stupid to forego the potential that diesel provides,” Zetsche said.
Zetsche also confirmed that despite dieselgate, Mercedes hasn’t seen any drop in demand for diesels, nor has key rival BMW.
“Beyond the politicians and media, the customer has some relevance in markets as well and neither BMW nor Mercedes-Benz has seen one basis point change in the take rate for diesel in Europe over the last year. We are convinced that we will continue to offer from both a customer benefit and an environmental point of view a good choice of diesel engines on an on-going basis.”
Mercedes’ belief mimics that of Volkswagen which recently said that it thinks petrol and diesel engines will survive for at least another 20 years.
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