Diesel ban ‘misguided,’ says Bosch official
It’s a really bad time to be a diesel conservationist.
Since the Volkswagen Group admitted to widespread cheating in 2015, diesel engine technology has been beaten up, dragged through the mud, and crucified. Some countries have gone as far as announcing bold plans to ban the fuel altogether in just a few decades, which is more draconian than any measure taken to curb other ignominious habits, such as smoking.
Not everyone is joining the lynching party. Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth publicly defended diesel and laid the blame for the global backlash right on Volkswagen’s doorstep. More recently, Bosch board member Rolf Bulander said he strongly believes banning diesel is “ecologically misguided.” The company maintains the allegations that it developed a defeat device on behalf of Volkswagen are “wild and unfounded.”
Speaking to Driving at a tech event in Germany, he explained bans like the ones proposed by decision-makers in France, Norway and Germany ignore the efficiency of the diesel engine, and more importantly, ignore all future developments that can make the technology cleaner yet.
“Politicians should not restrict our engineers by focusing on one technology, or by ignoring a technology,” he said.
Bosch will continue developing and improving the oil-burning engine in the foreseeable future. It has been given a bad name in the past couple of years, but a diesel engine done right can play an essential role in meeting the looming emissions regulations in Europe and in North America, Bulander said.
He said Bosch is investing time and money into every type of powertrain, including electric and hybrid ones. The company believes internal combustion and batteryelectric cars will coexist for many, many years. To that end, Bosch is also working on ways to make the gasoline-burning engine cleaner and more efficient. Significantly, the company will no longer perform engineering work on engines not fitted with a particulate filter, a component already common on modern turbodiesel engines.
Hydrogen is another technology set to become more widespread in the coming years, but not necessarily in passenger cars. Right now, Bosch is targeting heavy duty trucks that essentially drive the same route day in, day out. Their movements are predictable, which reduces the time and cost required to set up a network of charging stations.