European automakers will be countering the loss of efficient diesels in their fleets with smaller, turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines, 48-volt mild hybrid systems, and an expected wave of plug-in hybrids, which along with electric vehicles will qualify for so-called “super credits” under the 2020 emissions regime.
Automakers will keep diesel in the range for higher displacements along with hybrids, and gasoline for smaller displacements and mainstream models. European analysts said the future of diesel is largely in the hands of car buyers, whose concerns include the residual value of diesels, confusion about divergent EU and local regulations, and the trustworthiness of automakers after the VW diesel scandal which caught all the other European manufacturers by surprise and put the diesel engine industry in a downward trend.
