General Motors places bet on a future for diesel
In January 2018, Volkswagen Canada finalized and confirmed a classaction lawsuit agreement with 20,000 Canadian owners of 3.0-litre diesel-powered vehicles, more than 18 months after the 2.0-litre settlement had been reached.
It’s been a long wait for all of those Volkswagen AG diesel owners affected by an emissions cheating scandal discovered back in September 2015, commonly known as “dieselgate,” rocking the global auto industry in the process.
Since that time, the Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz and many others, have all but cremated its once-praised alternative powertrain for the North American market. Talks of future fully electric and autonomous vehicles have taken over that space, but some automakers haven’t totally abandoned the torque-beast that is diesel.
Recently, General Motors held a diesel tech presentation in Toronto, talking up the virtues of diesel. What they also see is an advantageous gap in the sedan and SUV market left behind by the German automakers.
“We’re trying to provide choice for customers where it makes sense,” explains Dan Nicholson, GM vicepresident, global propulsion systems. “We have the space to ourselves and it represents an opportunity for conquests, specifically highway drivers to come check out our Chevrolet and GMC brands and receive a compelling value proposition.”
Gerry Malloy, editor at Autofile.ca and former automotive engineer, agrees with Nicholson’s diesel gap assessment.
“From the passenger-car/SUV perspective, there’s still a core market for those experienced with and already sold on diesels, and those customers are no longer being served by the traditional European players. General Motors has an opportunity to capture some of that market, at least in the near term, which could bring new customers into their fold.”
In total, General Motors offers up 11 diesel model options for North America. Some of those are trucks where diesel is accepted without question, but others include the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and Equinox crossover, both powered by the 1.6-litre EcoTec turbo-diesel featuring 240 lb.-ft. of torque.
Low-speed torque and quick initial acceleration have always been key advantages for diesels, but fuel economy and extended driving range (56 litres in Equinox FWD and 59 litres in AWD model) have become an equal driving force for that subset of customers. Both the Cruze and Equinox FWD possess best-in-class highway fuel economy ratings at 4.6 L/100 km and 6.0 L/100 km, respectively. In addition, according to a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute study, diesel customers on average refuel seven times less per year than gasoline counterparts, a total ownership lifecycle savings of $7,000 (U.S.)
Another automotive industry expert, Dennis DesRosiers, isn’t surprised with General Motors’ belief in diesels.
“Diesel definitely has a place in the market primarily because they have fantastic powertrains with tons of torque which is critical in certain situations (pulling, hauling . . . pick-up trucks, etc.) Its superior fuel efficiency will become increasingly important as fuel-economy standards tighten.”
All of the diesel numbers and attributes appear beneficial, but they always did before “dieselgate.” However, the question still remains whether the public can and will return to diesel powertrains given its divisive stigma?
“It’s not the technology that let people down, but the behaviour of certain companies that were subsequently caught and appropriately punished,” adds Nicholson. “We take emissions compliance very seriously at General Motors . . . and we are going to build that trust over time and we hope to educate many on the benefits of diesel. We shouldn’t give up on it.”
As surprising as General Motors’ excitement is for diesel, it’s a lowpenetration move with plenty of potential for growth. Malloy, however, is cautious about diesel’s long-term potential.
“Regardless of how good the product may be, it’s hard to imagine the diesel market share growing much in the long-term in the face of the overwhelming political and regulatory momentum behind the electrification push.”
Nicholson concedes that diesel will never grow to the 50 per cent sales levels previously seen in Europe, but believes a natural penetration is now underway. On top of this organic movement, the American brand will be banking on leveraging its global diesel portfolio for scale, which includes its recently sold-off Opel brand to the tune of 34 diesel offerings that collectively sold more than 750,000 vehicles in 2016, 143,000 of them in North America.
“Due to our diesel footprint around the globe, we have a relatively low break-even point,” adds Nicholson. “As long as we can attract customers to our brands, and sell it at a reasonable price point for some share, that works for us.”
But it’s not only the automaker that benefits, the Cruze and Equinox diesels provide consumers with exceptional engine noise when compared to the diesels of old. General Motors rectified those old habits through an aluminum block and bedplate that’s lighter, stronger and quieter. In addition, the intake manifold has a clamshell absorber providing a continuous mixture motion to meet torque and emissions demands, as well as mitigate radiator noise. It all comes together for General Motors in a quiet package that’s being labelled the Flüsterdiesel, translated to the “whisper diesel.”
As long as automakers are compliant with tailpipe emissions, there seems to be no mathematical or scientific reason not to go ahead with diesel. It’s almost to a point where the diesel situation can’t get worse and can only go up. That seems to be the position General Motors is taking, but time will tell whether enough consumers can sift through the weeds and take the plunge to a mostly forgotten powertrain alternative. The advantages compared to the average gas counterpart is there, now it’s only about having enough takers to justify the costs.