Jaguar Land Rover bosses have attacked the ‘demonisation’ of modern diesel vehicles, claiming that it misleads motorists and could spell trouble for the automotive industry as a whole.
Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO, told Autocar that in spite of diesel-powered vehicles’ increasingly negative portrayal, the company would do more to promote the fuel in the future.
He stressed the importance of consumers knowing the difference between older, more polluting diesel technology and modern diesel engines which burn much cleaner and meet recent regulations.
Speth believes that in the wake of the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, all diesel technology has become tarred with the same brush, which he believes is “bad for the industry, bad for Jaguar Land Rover, and bad for Europe”.
Effectively, diesel is still the sole source of power for the majority of commercial vehicles, buses, taxis and lorries, while Europe is more reliant on diesel cars than any other continent.
Speth added: “Nobody believes the automotive industry anymore. They see us as offenders and not giving the right information. We have to show our technology is the best you can buy, to reduce the damage to health and the environment.”
As well as that, Jaguar Land Rover UK’s managing director Jeremy Hicks reassured consumers that the manufacturer is continually working to improve the cleanliness of its diesel engines.
He said: “Recent publicity around the diesel debate has caused significant confusion for customers; we are seeing more and more people ask us whether they should be buying a petrol or a diesel."
Mr Hicks added: “Our latest EU6 diesel engines are among the cleanest in the world. Highly efficient diesel particulate filters now capture 99.9 per cent of all particles, and we are making further emissions improvements with every new model year vehicle.”
