In an attempt to clean up the brand’s image following its diesel emission scandal, Volkswagen Group has announced a wide-scale use of particulate filters for even its petrol engines to reduce emissions of fine soot particles by up to 90%. At the moment, the systems are fitted only to diesel models.
From 2017, all VW Group direct injection TSI and TFSI engines will be fitted step-by-step with petrol particulate filters. By 2022, the company aims the number of Volkswagen vehicles being equipped with this technology annually to reach 7 million.
The process is starting in June 2017 with the 1.4-litre TSI engine in the new Volkswagen Tiguan and the 2.0 TFSI in the Audi A5. Implementation will then follow in further models and engine generations.
Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Head of Group Research and Development said, “Following increases in efficiency and lower CO2 output, we are now bringing about a sustained reduction in the emission levels of our modern petrol engines by fitting particulate filters as standard.”
Despite the outlay for complex exhaust gas treatment systems for new models, the company is determined to reduce its diesel vehicles’ pollutant emissions as well. Eichhorn added, “In the future, all models will be equipped with the latest and most efficient SCR catalytic converter technology.”
Using comparative measurements, independent testing bodies have established that both modern EU 6 diesel engines and petrol engines from the German brand are already the cleanest on the market. In its EQUA Air Quality Index, for example, London-based Emission Analytics looked at the world’s 440 most popular models and ranked the Volkswagen Group as the top performer by some margin.
The company ranked first in three categories: EU 6 petrol engine, EU 5 petrol engine and EU 6 hybrid vehicles. The best six EU 6 diesel vehicles also come from Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda; among the EU 5 diesels tested, a total of five models in the top 10, including the top two from Audi and Skoda, are also from the Volkswagen Group.
