News reports continue to appear about global car
manufacturers’ intention to start a gradual but sure process to phase out
diesel engines from their production lines, and not to keep marketing it as an
efficient fuel option. In a related context, a number of European cities intend
to ban the use and entry of diesel-engine vehicles within their municipal
borders, which has started to escalate in major countries such as Germany,
Britain, and France.
اضافة اعلان
Municipalities took the initiative to define completely
prohibited areas for diesel cars, and the Supreme Administrative Court in
Germany, for example, upheld the ban aimed at reducing pollution in the cities
it has been implemented. This has also gotten rid of all diesel vehicles that
do not meet the European standard for diesel engines known as Euro 5, which
sets strict standards to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide emissions from
cars and trucks equipped with diesel engines.
The campaign against diesel fuel is not new, and it has been
discussed for some time in the corridors of governments and institutions
concerned with the environment on the one hand, and the global car industry on
the other. Take the German Volkswagen Group, for example, in the infamously
well-publicized “Diesel Gate”. The scandal involved suspicions that the results
of exhaust tests in the US had been tampered with. This escalated and resulted
in the dismissal of senior managers and engineers in the German company, who
were suspected of intentionally downplaying the results of pollution tests and
building mechanisms that provide good results and hide the real pollution
figures of diesel engines. This case, which was discovered by chance by
researchers in California, sounded the alarm at environmental control agencies
in the United States and Europe, resulting in massive campaigns reviewing all
the exhaust emissions results for all manufacturers. As a result, the industry
was pressured to review the feasibility of having diesel engines at all, given
the high cost of any manipulation process in terms of huge financial fines on
the one hand, and the great damage inflicted upon the reputation and
credibility of these companies on the other. On top of that, the official push
to clean up the air of major cities and move towards clean, emission-free
transportation.
The primary beneficiaries of the “misfortunes” of diesel are
of course electric vehicles, as they represent the new and attractive option
for decision-makers looking for an alternative that enjoys popular credibility.
Electric cars sell themselves on the basis that they are the savior of the
environment because they do not emit any direct emissions that harm the
environment, and it seems that the global auto industry is willing to shorten
its future alternatives list, and focus on developing electric vehicles as a
strategic alternative while maintaining other “clean” fuel engines.
Of course, diesel cannot be “written off” completely as a
fuel for engines, as it remains the best and most economic option for large
vehicles and trucks, which travel great distances with the long range provided
by diesel fuel. Alternatives to diesel in this category of vehicles and trucks,
of course may change in the future, as the acceleration of scientific and
engineering developments never stops.
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