Team-BHP - Hyundai to stop diesel engine development

Hyundai basically has one diesel engine that is relevant and forms a big chunk of sales - the 1.5 CRDI. Considering they made it BS6 compliant with just an LNT device, they can very well improve it further with a urea injection system. As long as there is market demand, diesel engines will continue. I don’t see this demand dying as long as diesel is priced cheaper than petrol. The combined benefit of cheaper fuel and higher diesel fuel efficiency will always have takers.

@Mods: Please change the title to "Hyundai announces plans to stop diesel engine development"

No surprises there. Every auto-maker is thinking about the 2030 & 2035 deadlines for ICE-powered cars. They'll sell their current diesel engines powered cars till 2025-2030 as long as minor updates can help them meet emission norms.

Predictable decision.
The current Hyundai-Kia diesels are as fresh as they come and have easily another decade of life in them, ofcourse with necessary improvements over the course of time. By the time these engines become old tech, the EV onslaught would be complete.

And frankly Hyundai-Kia has everything covered. From the 1.5l to inline-6 diesels. :Cheering:

Hyundai-Kia, and by that extent the South Korean market were possibly the only non-European, non-Indian major market that had diesel offerings in ordinary passenger vehicles. Maybe Australia will come a distant fourth.

The only ones that seems to be still developing diesels for cars is Mazda.

Others including Toyota and the Detroit Three are developing diesels only for body on frame SUVs and pickup trucks.

And here I am blaming Tata for the lack of ICE development.:p

Quote:

Hyundai Motor Group has suspended development of diesel engines in the latest step of its shift toward zero emission vehicles.

According to local reports and industry sources Wednesday, Hyundai Motor suspended development of new diesel engines from the latter half of last year. It will not launch any new diesel engines from now, although the carmaker will release partially revamped versions of existing models.

R engines for SUV models like Hyundai Motor’s Santa Fe and Tucson and V engines for smaller models like Hyundai Accent and Kia Soul are among the diesel engines developed by the Korean automaker.

Gasoline engines, on the other hand, will continue to be developed as they are an essential part of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com...ml?detailWord=

Diesel engines are used when there is requirement for high torque. Today's turbo petrols produce sufficient torque for C-Segment SUV (Creta / Seltos). Cars that weigh around 1500-1800 kgs.

When the scale tips beyond 2000kgs, Diesels seems to be the obvious choice. Harrier, Compass etc.

But i am fan of Diesels for their low end torque and relaxed highway cruising ability.

Given the current trends towards electric cars, this is not surprising.

I am just happy that I bought a Hyundai with a good Diesel engine and am really enjoying it. I did a very short 10 min city drive on an Elantra with a petrol engine (I believe it is the same one that is used on the petrol Tucson also) and was not impressed. I am surely biased, but for my driving (a mix of slow city driving and relaxed highway driving below the beep, uh, speed limits) the diesel is just so nice.

I hope that the charging infrastructure improves and electric cars become more mainstream in maybe 7-10 years. Until then, I will enjoy my diesel.

Feels sad to see one of the best diesel engine manufacturer to stop the diesels. Hyundai diesels are one of the most refined and powerful diesels in the market. The 1.4CRDI and 1.6CRDI mills are benchmark in refinement and power delivery.

It is really disappointing to let go of the diesels. But for the greater good of the environment, we have to one day or other live with cars with no ICE and no diesels around. I will surely miss the torque the diesel offers over petrol. I won’t compare it with electric for obvious reasons but yes in ICE I always prefer diesel over petrol anyday :)

The diesel low end torque has been reborn as instantaneous torque of the electric motor. If electric cars become mainstream within 2030, then diesel will not be missed in the slightest. Petrol is next on the chopping block and all the better for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikhildrao (Post 4979912)

I agree. Once they drive a proper EV, they will forget everything about diesel torque, turbos, DCTs etc. EVs have more torque than diesels, single automatic gear ratio, no noise/vibration, 1 rupee per km running expenses, no radiators, exhaust systems, lubes etc to service/repair as the car ages. All we need is a 300 km pedal-to-metal range and a charging station cum restaurant every 50 km and that would do the ICE cars in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by svmvale (Post 4979757)

Diesel engines are used when there is requirement for high torque. Today's turbo petrols produce sufficient torque

And efficiency! Depending on the car, a turbo-diesel can be 40 - 100% more fuel efficient than a turbo-petrol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki (Post 4979811)

Feels sad to see one of the best diesel engine manufacturer to stop the diesels.

I don't think we are going to see Hyundai diesels disappear in India.

1. The current diesels are fresh enough to last 10 - 15 years easily.

2. Hyundai-Kia India will follow demand & offer diesel engines for as long as there is demand for them. The company did invest in BS6 proactively (unlike Maruti's delayed 1.5L diesel) and the Indian arm is capable of R&D as required, simply because of the volumes here. Hyundai-Kia will not give up a competitive advantage.

That being said, the future is overall very dark for diesel engine lovers. Enjoy the rush of torque while it lasts :)

This is just a development freeze and not a complete production halt of Diesel engines. Hyundai and Kia have the 1.5 diesel unit in India which will be good enough for all segments from the i20 right up to the Creta and the Seltos. So its a given that there would be no small diesels. But what im worried is about cars like the Tucson and the Elantra. What happens when the newer generations of these cars get launched in India? Would they get just petrol options or the same 1.5 diesel as the Creta? The Tucson for its size needs a big Diesel engine, so it would be disappointment to see a 1.5 diesel in that or an only petrol option.

I believe that many manufacturers will look at procuring engines from other manufacturers in the near future. Tata is a good example. They had a great engine in the Varicor 400 variants of the Safari and Hexa. However they used the Fiat engine in the Harrier.

Hyundai might do the same. It will release more research capacity for petrol hybrids and EVs which will be more relevant for the developed markets where Hyundai makes most of its money.