Volkswagen four-cylinder TDIs approved for next-gen diesel

Volkswagen has revealed four-cylinder TDI vehicles delivered after June 2021 have the capability to run completely on next-generation diesel fuels.

The move ties in with the brand’s pledge to become completely carbon-neutral by 2050 and slash its European fleet emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 – which it says requires each vehicle over its lifecycle to emit 17 tonnes less of carbon dioxide.

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Significant investment in EVs and infrastructure will underpin the push, but more sustainable fuels are being implemented to cut emissions on combustion engine models without the need for heavily re-engineering them.

Volkswagen is claiming “newly developed diesel fuels” – that its four-cylinder TDI models are now compliant with – not blended with regular diesel can slash carbon dioxide emissions between as much as 70 and 95 per cent.

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These are fuels developed to the 2016 European Standard EN15940, which specifies second-generation biofuels and e-diesels made from a Fischer-Tropsch process.

“Through the use of environmentally friendly fuels in the approved Volkswagen models,” Volkswagen’s head of fuels, professor Thomas Garbe, explained, “we are making it possible for customers throughout Europe to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions as soon as the fuel is locally available.

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“For example, the use of paraffinic fuels is a sensible additional option, particularly for companies with a mixed fleet made up of models with electric and conventional drives.”

Of course, it’s one thing for VW’s cars to be capable of running these fuels, it’s another for owners to obtain them.

Currently, in Australia, biomass-derived diesel accounts for as much as five or 20 per cent of the biodiesel sold at bowsers. Meanwhile, Volkswagen sells diesel four-cylinder engines in only the Tiguan, Caddy, Transport and Amarok ranges here.

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In the long-term, global Volkswagen executives have said the brand will stop sales of internal combustion engine vehicles in Europe by 2035, but it will continue with them in markets with softer emissions laws, such as America and China.

Australia could also expect to receive ICE VWs past 2035 as well, based on emissions laws that lag Europe and our slow uptake of electric vehicles and infrastructure.