Volvo no longer makes diesel engines...

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Lost Medic

I live in the Czech Republic and EV's are few and far between due to the extreme cold and lack of charging stations.

A few weeks ago it was -17 when I left for work and the neighbour has a Tesla S. No charge and unable to unlock it. Would not charge up at all and only showed errors. He had to call recovery.

It has now been returned under Czech consumer law.

I think EV's will be a problem in any cold climate. Battery's don't like cold and as soon as you put things on like you normally would in cold weather, i.e. the heater and heated seats, the range plummets.

I'm not sure what the option will be. They have to improve battery tech in cold climates, or as a minimum at least have more charging stations.

That being said, battery's don't work well in heat either!

Originally Posted by The Thong

The early diesels that were fitted in Ford cars were awful. Sods to start on cold mornings, Smokey and were susceptible to cracking their heads. I had a Transit with a York in it. It was a reliable old chunk but it was a pain when cold starting, noisy and not particularly economical. Once the likes of VW and PSA got their teeth into making diesels better they became viable.
Once they started fitting EGR, DPF, Adblue etc etc for me the problems began. I had a Peugeot 206 car van. It had an old skool mechanical injection pump, none turbo diesel engine. It was very economical and reliable. It went survive to service without any issue only requiring the usual consumables. After that I had a Berlingo Hdi and it was a disaster. It lived in the dealership, it wasn’t a patch on my 206.
We had an issue with one of our 2021 Transit Connects. Adblue sensor went on it. Near two grand to supply and code it. The van kept throwing up warning lights and then one day the engine blew up. The report come back that something (haven’t got the details) and it caused the engine to burn one of the pistons and then….. Boom!! It strikes me that modern diesels have become so over complicated that even dealers struggle with em. Back to petrol for me in that case

TT

Peugeot made fantastic diesel engines back in the day, but like everyone else, they had to go with the times and add all the emissions stuff to their vehicles to be compliant with standards.

Same scenario with ourselves. We've had Citroen Relays for over 20 years (they have Peugeot engines). We never had a single issue with any one of them mechanically. Nothing out of the norm was replaced... wheel bearings, tyres, oil changes and so forth. A wiper motor went in one and a window motor, but that's wear and tear I guess.

We got a euro 6 one. It needed a cam belt and water pump doing, which is fair enough (75,000 miles on it at the time). However, the euro 5 engine had a timing chain. For some reason they changed to a belt on the euro 6. The biggest repair was a NOx sensor, which cost over £400 alone. It was an oxygen sensor with a little plug on the end and it aided DPF regeneration. It wasn't particularly hard to fit, but the amount of sensors in that vehicle was mind boggling. When it was on the ramp, you could see wires all over the place. They all had a purpose! Definitely not like a 206 anyway, that's for sure. My Brother had one many years ago, what a cracking motor that was (van derived car). Bulletproof.

That's the problem with modern cars and vans nowadays. They're packed with electrics and sensors, which will undoubtedly fail at some point in time.

[GrahamBrown1]

See isn’t it odd tho that it’s the coldest country’s that are the biggest converts. 23000 model Y Teslas sold in Norway last year. They obviously don’t seem to see it like we do over here. Perhaps it’s the more relaxed Nordic lifestyle that allows them to sit around drinking coffee whilst waiting for the car to charge?

[don kalmar union]

Norway has a huge sovereign wealth fund from wise investments from their share of North Sea Oil whereas we have very little to show from ours.... they have spent wisely on infrastructure and renewables.... we have not. These point, in part, to their buying many EVs. They have been well governed these past years.... we have not enjoyed good governance at all.... certainly not during the tory years.

[GMcL]

In Norway electric car sales are given a VAT exemption. A 50% rule also prevents counties and municipalities from charging more than 50% of the price of fossil fuel cars on ferries, public parking and toll roads. ZEV owners are also exempt from paying annual road traffic insurance tax.

With those incentives it's hard to justify petrol or diesel. What they are now finding is people are using EVs instead of public transport and cycling, they are starting to pull back on some of the incentives.

[Tannaton]

Still feels strange, given Volvo's experience to Polestar and now this :

https://www.ft.com/content/1f18cf1f-...2-86555f52a6e8

[Whippy]

The words 'South Sea Bubble' spring to mind.

[Moomoo]

Tulip bulb ? Anyone?😈

[JonathanD]

This is the Volvo press release dated 27 March 2024:

Dear diesel, it’s time to say goodbye

We proudly announced it to the world at Climate Week NYC in September last year, and now it’s becoming a reality: we’ve built our last diesel car.

On a cloudy Thursday in early February, the plant in Ghent, Belgium, produced its last diesel-powered car, a V60. And just the other day, the plant in Torslanda, Sweden, saw its last XC90 diesel car roll off the production line.

These events mark a huge milestone in Volvo Cars’ 97-year history. With this move, we’re taking a big step towards our ambitions of becoming a fully electric car maker, as well as achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Goodbye diesel, hello electric
For a long time, our diesel engines were synonymous with reliability and efficiency, and they meant a great deal to us for many decades. Indeed, the success of our diesel cars played a significant role in our evolution into a premium brand.

In recent years, the electric revolution has evolved quicker than most of us could have imagined – and it’s largely propelled by tightening regulations around tailpipe emissions, as well as customer demand in response to the climate crisis and a desire for cleaner urban air. Only five years ago, the diesel engine was our bread and butter in Europe, just like it was for most other car makers. The majority of the cars we sold in Europe in 2019 ran on diesel, while electric models were just starting to gain traction.

Today, most of our sales on the continent are electrified cars. Last year, we increased our sales of fully electric cars by 70 per cent, and our global electric market share by 34 per cent. The figures speak for themselves, underscoring that the all-electric direction we’re now heading towards is the right one to take, and we do so with our flag held high.

While our future indeed is fully electric, our mixed portfolio includes some excellent plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid models, which will act as a perfect bridge towards that future.

A history of pride
As we say farewell to our diesel cars, let’s explore how it all began and unfolded. Here are some key milestones in our diesel history:

• 1979. Neither Sweden nor Europe is a diesel market. Those who buy diesel cars tend to be taxi drivers or long-haul travellers. But people have slowly begun to see the benefits of the more efficient diesel engines and demand is on the rise. So, we listen to our customers and introduce our first-ever diesel car: the Volvo 244 GL D6. The engine is powerful, very efficient and the world’s first six-cylinder diesel engine for passenger cars.

• 2001. The diesel car scene gains momentum. When we launch the Volvo V70, it’s also finally time for us to introduce our first self-built diesel engine. This five-cylinder engine, manufactured at the Volvo powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, is to become a huge success and will power many Volvo cars across Europe. It’s made in several different versions and is so powerful that it’s even being used on the racetrack in a car called the S60 Challenge. Also, our friends at Volvo Penta even decided to make a marine version of this engine.

• 2008. Time for our next big diesel milestone: the launch of the Drive-E lineup – featuring small yet highly efficient 1.6-litre diesel engines. With the sun on your face and the wind at your back, you can go 1,300km on a single tank, and CO2 emission levels are so low that they get classified as ‘green engines’ in Sweden. The Drive-E engines are flexibly built and work well in different Volvo models. With their balance of efficiency and performance, they mark a big step forward in diesel technology.

• 2012. We launch the Volvo V60 D6 plug-in hybrid, which is a unique car: it’s the world’s first plug-in hybrid fitted with a diesel engine. At the time, it is our most technically advanced model ever – electric, hybrid and a muscle car all at once. And it’s truly something of an engineering wonder. Depending on the driving mode, it can go as far as 50 kilometres on electric power, has a total range of up to 1,000 kilometres, and with 215 horsepower from the diesel engine and 70 horsepower from the electric motor, it accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds.

• 2013. For the second time in history, we launch a completely self-built diesel engine family: Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA). The combination of higher injection pressure and the unique i-ART technology is considered revolutionary in the diesel industry. Our customers can enjoy better fuel economy, lower emissions and high output. The new engines are used in a variety of models and become a success in the second-generation XC90. They live on until the end, powering the very last diesel-powered V60 and XC90 we build.

• 2023. We move away from combustion engines by selling our stake in Aurobay, the combustion engine joint venture company we have together with Geely Holding.

-ends-

https://www.media.volvocars.com/uk/e...to-say-goodbye

I have also attached the two photos included with that press release, though confusion would appear to reign as while both photos purport to be of that final XC90 diesel they are clearly photos of two different XC90s (the front grilles being the dead giveaway), albeit two Denim Blue XC90s.

[Whippy]

Translation.

We only intend to sell very expensive cars to very rich people.

[Moose Test]

Originally Posted by Whippy

We only intend to sell very expensive cars to very rich people.

Nail on the head.

Going back 3 or 4 years ago now, I test drove both an L405 Range Rover and the new XC90. Both top of the line models, both diesels. What struck me at the time was just how refined the interior fit and trim of the Volvo was, in my opinion better finished and appointed than even Range Rover were offering in a circa 100k vehicle.

"Volvo" management long ago made the decision to move themselves lock, stock and barrel into the premium end of the market. I don't think that has anything near so much to do with the transition to EV, as it is a simple push towards increasing profit margins and hence returns for Geely's shareholders and investors. I strongly suspect that the kinds of prices we're seeing now would have happened all the same had the EV revolution never come to pass.