Diesel-powered cars are all the rage in the west albeit only having a faint presence on this side of the world. That said, there is a gradual increase in consumption with improved and increased selection in diesel fuel quality with the likes of BHP and Petronas leading the way locally.
Even the automakers themselves have heeded to the “diesel-variant-demanding customers”; with the introduction of the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage recently.
While we’re still licking the wounds over here from not getting the Honda Civic 1.6L i-DTEC turbodiesel with 300 Nm of torque that’s only for the UK, some countries leading the way to its eventual ban alongside petrol-powered vehicles. Preferred for its ability to provide good mileage, it’s also cheaper and is presumably better for the environment in terms of its carbon dioxide emission.
Well, no. That’s not true – not according to the German Transport Ministry, as reported by Automotive News.
In the similar report, it highlighted an inquiry from German opposition party, Greens (a green political party as the name would suggest) that claimed that diesel-powered cars registered in 2016 was responsible for emitting 128 grams of carbon dioxide per km on average. New petrol-powered cars were just one gram per km higher on average.
One of the reason for the almost identical carbon dioxide figures was because diesel cars were generally heavier and had more power, a claim by Greens transport expert, Stephan Kuehn.
