A decade ago the Spanish automobile market was completely dieselized. However, currently diesel cars are those that are suffering the greatest decline in market share. From January 1 to August 31 of this year, according to data provided by the dealer association (Faconauto), a total of 83,611 diesel passenger cars have been registered, which represents a drop of 10.1%. On the other hand, the gasoline variants, with 275,430 units, register an increase of 19.1%.
Although the survival of internal combustion vehicles beyond 2035 can be guaranteed with the use of neutral fuels - free of emissions -, brands are betting on electric cars, mostly battery-powered, although there are also fuel cell proposals ( hydrogen). In this strategy, some have already announced when they will stop manufacturing cars with internal combustion engines. And Volvo, coinciding with the celebration of Climate Week in New York, has announced that it will stop producing diesel cars at the beginning of 2024. It will thus be one of the first traditional manufacturers to take this step.
The company decided last year to abandon the development of new combustion engines and, in November 2022, sold its stake in Aurobay, the joint company that was in charge of them. “Electric propulsion systems are our future and are superior to combustion ones: they generate less noise, less vibrations, less maintenance costs for our customers and zero tailpipe emissions,” said Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars. , who calls for significant policies and actions to be implemented to fight climate change.
Volvo's goal for 2030 is to sell only pure electric vehicles and, by 2040, to be an environmentally neutral company. To achieve this goal, drastic decisions must be made; and one of them is to completely eliminate diesel fuel.
Just four years ago, diesel versions were one of the brand's main businesses in Europe, as was the case with almost all car manufacturers. “The trend has reversed since then, driven by changes in market demands, the publication of stricter emissions standards and our own drive towards electrification,” the Swedish brand explains. Now the majority of its sales in the Old Continent correspond to electric vehicles, either with fully electric motors or plug-in hybrids.
The reduced presence of diesel vehicles on the streets also has a positive effect on urban air quality; Although diesel engines emit less CO2 than gasoline engines, they release more gases that, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), have a detrimental effect on air quality, especially in densely urbanized areas.
On the other hand, the company's sustainability director, Anders Kärrberg, participates in an event organized by the Accelerating to Zero (A2Z) coalition on the occasion of this year's New York Climate Week. This coalition provides a multi-stakeholder platform for signatories to the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Vehicles. This allows us to collaborate and coordinate actions with the common goal of “achieving 100% of global sales of new cars and vans to be free of exhaust emissions before 2040, and before 2035 in the main markets.”
