Mercedes-Benz to introduce a new family of Diesel Engines at low, or below NOx emission levels.

Innovative solution for diesel and gasoline engines

• New family of diesel engines fulfils future RDE requirements
• DEKRA confirms particularly low and below-limit NOx emissions
• Continuous technical improvements across all model ranges
• Large-scale introduction of particulate filters for gasoline engines

With its completely newly developed family of diesel engines, Mercedes-Benz is the first manufacturer to put diesel vehicles on the market that already fulfil the stricter emission limits planned for the EU as of September 2017. This has been achieved through an integrated technology approach, which includes new stepped combustion chambers and further developed exhaust-gas recirculation. 

The new engine design also allows all components for exhaust-gas recirculation to be positioned directly on the engine, instead of under the car floor as previously. This significantly enhances the system’s overall effectiveness – largely independently of ambient temperatures and driving style.

The market launch of the completely newly developed four-cylinder diesel engine OM 654 is in the new E-Class. 

The E 220 d now consumes as little as 3.9 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres (combined according to the NEDC currently prescribed for all manufacturers), although the engine is more powerful than its predecessor [72.4 mpg] (143 kW/195 hp compared with 125 kW/170 hp). This corresponds with CO₂ emissions of 102 grams per kilometre.

The new four-cylinder engine is the first member of a modular engine family that will be applied throughout the entire portfolios of Mercedes-Benz Cars and also at Mercedes-Benz Vans. Several levels of power output are planned, as well as longitudinal and transverse installation in vehicles with front-, rear- and all-wheel drive. 

In this way, Mercedes-Benz will equip its entire range of diesel cars in Europe with this latest engine generation including SCR technology (selective catalytic reduction) by 2019 at the latest.

“Our customers’ trust is very important to us and we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously,” explained Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Daimler Board of Management Member for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. 

“That’s why we decided five years ago to invest massively in the further development of diesel technology. But we are also continuously making our gasoline engines more efficient and more environment-friendly; because high-tech combustion engines will remain the backbone of individual mobility until the widespread market success of electric vehicles. 

For this reason, we are investing a total of about three billion euros to ensure further improvements in fuel consumption and emissions – in both future and current vehicles.”

DEKRA confirms particularly low and below-limit NOx emissions

In addition to their good fuel consumption, the new family of diesel engines also has the advantage of particularly low nitrogen-oxide emissions. 

That has now been confirmed by independent measurements by DEKRA, a German vehicle inspection company. The DEKRA experts carried out an extensive test program with a Mercedes-Benz E 220 d. The focus was on Real Driving Emissions (RDE), the method prescribed in the EU as of September 2017 in addition to measuring emissions on the test bench.

The RDE dynamic test program covers various stretches of road that include urban streets, country roads and freeways. The measurements were carried out at various temperatures between about two and 16 degrees Celsius, and with various numbers of occupants and varying loads. 

As a result, the E 220 d emitted less NOx than the limit of 80 mg/km on all applicable RDE routes. In some cases, the NOx emissions were at the very low level of between just 13 and 21 mg/km even at low ambient temperatures.

Continuous improvement also with current diesel engines

The Mercedes-Benz engineers made use of the newly gained knowledge from the development of the new family of diesel engines also to continually improve the emissions of current vehicle models. 

That includes optimisations with regard to turbochargingand the further development of fuel injection and intercooling, as well as the application of new materials such as chromised timing chains. 

The combination of these measures results in improved robustness of the parts and components that are subjected to particular stress by combustion and exhaust-gas recirculation. 

The operating range of exhaust-gas recirculation has been extended towards significantly lower temperatures. Another factor is the increased efficiency of the SCR systems. 

This has been achieved by modifying the design of the exhaust system and by applying new catalyst materials. This entire package of measures is now being successively applied in series production.

With the entry-level engines of the compact cars (A- and B-Class and the CLA and GLA) and with the V-Class, Mercedes-Benz is offering the recent improvements as a software update on cars already in customers’ hands in the context of a voluntary service action to be implemented in the coming months, starting with the V-Class in June.

Gasoline engines with particulate filters in the future

Thanks to a large number of development advances, diesel engines’ emissions of particulate matter have been continually reduced in recent years. 

Also many of the modern Mercedes-Benz gasoline engines already emit lower levels of particulate matter than the limits to be introduced in the future. This is achieved by means of modifications within the engines as well as through the application of piezo injectors.

For the further improvement of environmental compatibility, Mercedes-Benz plans the large-scale use of particulate filters also for gasoline engines – the first manufacturer to do so. 

After more than two years of positive field tests with the Mercedes-Benz S 500, additional versions of the S-Class with gasoline engines are to be equipped with this new technology with the next model upgrade. 

That will be followed by gradual implementation in further new models, model upgrades and new engine generations. After that, particulate filters will also be applied in the current model ranges.

German sources state that 2.46 million cars will be recalled in Germany alone de to the illegal emissions software.

Volkswagen Group will recall 2.46 million diesel cars fitted with illegal emissions-control software in Germany, Die Welt  newspaper reported today.

Some 1.54 million VW-brand cars and light commercial vehicles need to be fixed, as well as 531,813 from Audi, another 286,970 at Skoda and 104,197 at the Seat brand, the paper said, without naming its sources.

VW has said that 11 million cars globally may have been fitted with software that can fool official tests for nitrogen oxide emissions. About 8.5 million are in Europe and the German recall is likely to be the basis for callbacks throughout European markets.

VW has the approval of Germany's motor transport authority (KBA) for fixes for more than 90 percent of the affected cars, including models with 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter engines.

VW CEO Matthias Mueller said last week that the diesel engine refits are 'manageable.' The repair for the 1.6-liter engine involves upgraded software and "relatively simple changes" to the air-filter system. The 2.0-liter diesel vehicles will only need a software update. Also affected are 1.2-liter diesel engines that likely will only need a software update.

VW is facing a scandal on three fronts: In addition to the NOx emissions-cheating software, the automaker has admitted understating CO2 ratings on about 800,000 vehicles. U.S. regulators have also targeted 85,000 VW, Audi and Porsche models with 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engines fitted with emissions-control equipment that was not disclosed to U.S. regulators.

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report

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Now it is Renault on the defensive as it denies the All-New Kadjar is in breach of EU6 NOx levels.

Renault disputes test results showing NOx emissions from its Espace 1.6-liter diesel variant were up to 25 times higher than allowed under Euro 6 limits.

"As previously stated, Renault reiterates that Espace complies with applicable regulations, just as all its vehicles," the automaker said in a release today.

German environmental lobby group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) said in a report today that excess emission levels for the Renault Espace diesel were detected under new European testing cycles (NEFZ) in five separate tests with a warm engine carried out by the University of Applied Sciences in Bern, Switzerland.

Renault said the test procedures used by the university "are not all compliant with European regulations. The report shows important variations in test findings which are not conclusive and require 'additional measurements'."

The automaker added that it wants to learn more about the tests, especially since Germany's ADAC tested the Espace earlier this year "and concluded that it complied with regulations."

The DUH report comes as carmakers come under particular scrutiny for their emissions levels in the wake of the scandal at Volkswagen Group.

Reforms sought

DUH called for a reform of Europe's system to approve vehicles, which has come under fire for giving that authority to national authorities suspected by critics of being too close to manufacturers.

"It is unbelievable that so-called modern diesel vehicles that damage the air we breathe in this way are on the road today," campaigner Axel Friedrich said in the DUH statement.

Friedrich is a co-founder and council member of the Washington-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), which commissioned the original investigation that led eventually to the exposure of VW's test-rigging.

Europe needs a "comprehensive reorganization of the system in which mandatory regular controls on the street are integrated", he said.

The ICCT has called for tests to be carried out on vehicles in use rather than on cars specially prepared by manufacturers in real-world conditions as well as in laboratories.

Volkswagen admitted in September to cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests, sparking a scandal that has affected up to 11 million VW diesel vehicles worldwide, forced a reshuffle of senior management and will likely cost the group tens of billions of euros.

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