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Cadillac Loses Hope in Diesel, Electrification Takes Priority

Even though Cadillac announced the XT4 would introduce a four-cylinder turbo diesel by the end of 2020, the oil-chugging engine won’t happen after all. As if the crown jewel of General Motors was oblivious to what is happening throughout the automotive industry, the automaker announced that electrification is key for the mid and long term.
Cadillac XT4 29 photos
Photo: Cadillac
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Steve Carlisle, who replaced Johan de Nysschen as head of Cadillac, confirmed the information last week at the XT4 launch in Seattle. "We have been working on diesel, but the markets may be changing more quickly than we anticipated.” Even though General Motors still believes in compression-ignition engine technology, the truth of the matter is that legislation will hit the diesel hard by 2025, even in the Old Continent.

Automotive News reports the strategy “is under intense scrutiny” by the higher-ups at Cadillac and General Motors, but on the other hand, we’re almost certain where this is going. Other than heavy-duty and commercial vehicles, the fuel with a higher energy density than gasoline will be put on the back burner as far as passenger vehicles are concerned.

Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have discontinued their diesel options in the United States, with BMW to follow by the end of the 2019 model year. At the present moment, Jaguar Land Rover is the last player in the premium segment with diesel engines in the U.S.

Looking at the bigger picture, gasoline will find itself out of favor as well. France and the United Kingdom ruled out the ban of new gasoline and diesel cars from 2040, and other countries are mirroring the trend on a lesser or greater extent. Norway, for example, will phase out conventional cars by 2025.

The rhetoric behind these decisions doesn’t have anything to do with the ambitions of the government, but serves as a signal to automakers. In order to control our carbon footprint, moving to zero-emission vehicles is more of a necessity rather than wishful thinking from the eco-minded public.

Norway appears to be the first country where the inevitable will happen. More to the point, 52 percent of new car sales in 2017 were electric. The advantages of choosing EVs over electric combustion are plentiful in the sovereign state in Northwestern Europe, including free or subsidized parking, charging, tolls, and tax breaks.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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