Jaguar Land Rover Boss Stands Up For Diesel

But along came Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth who told Autocar that the company would be doing more to promote modern diesel technology.

“The latest diesel technology is really such a step in emissions, performance, particulates; it’s better for the environment when compared to [an equivalent] petrol. Diesel has to – needs to – have a future,” said Speth.

A lot of this comes down to diesel still powering a majority of commercial vehicles such as buses and semi-trucks. Diesel is seen as a good balance of offering good fuel economy and power needed for these types of vehicles. In light of stricter standards and certain cities moving to ban diesel, Speth explained now is time to not only keep it viable but to give enough time for manufacturers to work on hybrids and electric becoming more mainstream.

Speth criticized the media for mischaracterizing current diesel vehicles with older ones. He points to news stories that use images of older diesel vehicles spewing black smoke with newer models.

“Anyone can see the black smoke coming out of old diesels is bad. We need to replace them with newer ones.”

Speth also gave Volkswagen some grief, saying the cheats they implemented brought this latest wave of diesel hate.

“This kind of manipulation software is not acceptable. Unfortunately, the whole automotive industry suffers, not just Volkswagen,” said Speth.

“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.”

Pic Credit: Land Rover