Volkswagen chairman Herbert Diess believes that the trend of downsizing engines is well and truly over.
The VW brand boss made the comments at the launch of the facelifted Golf in Europe.
“The trend of downsizing is over,” Diess said, according to The Telegraph.
“Emissions tend to go up as engines get smaller,” he explained, making reference to the idea that downsized engines actually perform worse in real-world economy tests (often being set up to return impressive figures in laboratory tests).
The comments are particularly significant considering that Real Driving Emissions (RDE) tests are set to be introduced in Europe for new types of cars from September 2017 and for all registrations from September 2019.
Diess added that the Wolfsburg automaker would continue using 1,0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engines in its small vehicles. But larger cars, such as the refreshed Golf, would stick with larger powerplants. Indeed, the 1,4-litre turbocharged petrol engine in the outgoing Golf range has been replaced by a new 1,5-litre version in the facelifted line-up.
Diess also revealed that the VW brand would likely not develop diesel engines smaller than the current 1,6 litres.
“Small diesels are just not economic,” he said, adding that the popularity of oil-burners in some markets “has not been a customer choice, but [rather] a result of favourable tax regimes. Once you have a price advantage, people will play along”.
The comments from Diess come after a Reuters report in October suggested that a shift to engine “upsizing” was just around the corner, thanks to the upcoming change in emissions testing.
