Volvo CEO, Hakan Samuelsson has disclosed that they might drop making diesels in the future due to the strict NOx emissions that will eventually be enforced.
He added that their current crop of diesel variants may be the last of the diesels that we will get to see from this brand, and it is mainly due to the rising costs involved in meeting the NOx emissions. Samuelsson claims that the current diesels work appropriately to reduce CO2 emissions, which is why they will continue to power their cars till the year 2023. However, beyond that, the costs for the R&D involved in developing the emissions system to abide by the future NOx limits will not be viable from a business point of view.
Volvo is looking to focus on the prospects that electric and hybrid cars bring along, especially since all-electric ones do not emit any emissions in the first place. Reports claim that the cost to fit emission reduction systems by the year 2019 will bring up the price tag of diesels to a comparable plug-in hybrid vehicle. Keeping this in mind, it doesn’t make business sense to invest in diesels.
Stay tuned to CarTrade for more information regarding Volvo’s future plans.
