What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Diesel engine technology probably peaked in 2020. That’s not a fact, but an observation based on the timelines for the ever increasingly complicated Euro emissions regulations. There have been only incremental upgrades to engine technology since the introduction of Euro 6 and its subsequent Euro 6b, Euro 6c, Euro 6d-TEMP and most recently, and appropriately named, 

Euro 6d Final focusing on ever narrower NOx emissions as well as PM10 and PM2.5 particulates. 

But since the date for type approval of the last Euro 6d standards was January 2020 (with all new vehicles registered after January 2021 having to comply) it is, as it stands, the last set of emissions regulations diesel engines will have to meet. 

That’s because there is currently no sign of Euro 7 being implemented by the European Commission, despite The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) having submitted its proposals for Euro 7 regulations more than a year ago. Even a shortened time frame for introducing new regulations would likely not see them come into effect before 2026, by which time the industry is perilously close to the European-wide 2030 combustion engine ban deadline. Ultimately, it begs the question, will manufacturers even bother to update their diesel model range to meet Euro 7? 

Preserving market share will of course come into the equation of whether or not to invest in new engine technology, and many manufacturers will feel morally obliged to carry on pushing the cleanliness of the technology forward. But with so little time to recoup their investment before the 2030 sales cut off, new diesel engine spending will come under some serious scrutiny. 

Global engine strategies may justify the expense, such as Ford’s four-cylinder Panther unit, which is used in a diverse range of products as a 2.0l commercial vehicle engine in Transit and Ranger, as well as a 1.5l engine in passenger cars including the Focus and Puma in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Asia. A diverse range of applications in markets operating on different timelines and emissions targets, in addition to countries that aren’t banning internal combustion engines (ICE), might warrant continuing development. Ford also still expects one third of its sales in Europe to be diesel by 2030, many of which will be commercial vehicles, and has assigned its Dagenham facility an important role. As much as 60% of its output will be used in the Transit Custom and one-tonne Volkswagen vans being built in Kocaeli, Turkey. 

Diesel engines will still play an important role in the commercial vehicle sector in the period between 2025 and 2030, but current spending on electric vehicle development would suggest that most manufacturers are investing heavily in alternative drivelines, possibly at the expense of diesel and other ICE development. Ford says it has been averaging an investment of £450m in R&D expenditure per year over the past decade but that its future spend will all be around electric vehicles only. Globally, Ford plans to invest over $50bn (£41bn) in EVs through to 2026 where they hope to have battery capacity for more than 2m vehicles annually with a target of 600,000 units by the end of 2023 alone – 150,000 of which will be electric Transit vans.

“This is our opportunity to win a whole new group of customers, building their loyalty and advocacy as we grow our market share,” said Marin Gjaja, Ford model e chief customer officer. 

Ford is not alone in turning its investment attentions towards electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz Group invested €2.2bn (£1.9bn) in Q2 2022 alone, with around €350m (£295m) having been currently spent on the development of the next generation eSprinter and a further €50m (£42m) spent on adapting production lines at the three plants (North Charleston, Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde) that will produce the new model from the second half of 2023. Despite Mercedes-Benz making a habit of not commenting on future product development, in its quarterly statement, the brand said: “Investments in property, plants and equipment and research and development are expected to remain “significantly above” prior-year levels due to spending to upgrade existing combustion engine platforms and to develop the electric VAN.EA platform.” 

Aside from Q2 2022 group spending being down on their Q2 2021 spending (€2.4bn)(£2.0bn), it would suggest there is still life in the ICE models – although not necessarily their engine development. The VAN.EA platform and communications relating to the group’s electric strategy, however, suggests that diesel will take a back seat after 2025 when a new modular electric-only architecture will be introduced with all newly developed vans going forward being electric only. Three all-electric platforms will be born with MB.EA (Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture) for medium- and large-size vehicles, such as current models EQC and EQS – an AMG.EA platform for its prestige and performance cars, which will likely see the end of ICE models of Maybach and G Wagon cars and the aforementioned VAN.EA for new electric Sprinter and Vito models.

This electric-only strategy coincides with the development of a new Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) to connect its vehicles to the cloud, enabling autonomous driving, new charging and management systems as well as being the backdrop to its MBUX infotainment systems, from 2024. Mercedes has also previously said it will reduce its investment in ICE and plug-in hybrid models by 80% from 2019 to 2026.