Peugeot Questions Diesel Engines, Pauses Development Of New Units

Peugeot will continue to inject a good amount of cash into the development of petrol and electrified engines, but diesel units are uncertain at this point.

The French car firm is reportedly stopping the development of new oil burners. The decision is temporary, says Autocar, which spoke to the PSA Group’s product director, Laurent Blanchet, at the 2018 Paris Auto Show.

Blanchet described the future of diesel engines as being “uncertain”, adding that “we will have to see if the market is going to delete or give up on diesel”. “We have decided not to develop more evolutions of diesel technology, because we want to see what’s going to happen”, commented Blanchet.

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At the moment, diesel engines have a market share of around 36 percent, down from some 50 percent at the beginning of 2017. The drop is mostly blamed upon the Volkswagen cheating emissions scandal, as well as possible increased taxation. The diesel ban embraced by some cities is another major factor that’s keeping new car buyers away from oil burners.

“We have decided that, if in 2022 or 2023 the market is, say, 5 percent made up of diesel, we will give up on it. If the market is 30 percent, the question will be very different”, said Laurent Blanchet. “I think nobody can say where the market will be. But what is clear is that the diesel trend is going down”.

Peugeot is only the latest in a string of automakers to have seriously considered dropping diesel engines altogether. Other companies, such as Porsche, have already done so, and they will focus their attention solely on petrol and electrified powertrains.

Note: 2019 Peugeot 508 SW pictured