What's all this about?
Do you know what a Diesel Particulate Filter is?
Of course I do! Why?
Well, now we're going to get the Gasoline Particulate Filter (GPF), and it's all courtesy of Volkswagen Group, a conglomerate that - right now - is on rather thin ice in terms of customer confidence and emissions.
Is this to clean up the exhaust gases of its petrol cars, then?
Indeed so. Recent environmental pressure campaigns have suggested direct-injection petrol cars kick out just as much soot and particulates as diesels, which have been demonised in the media for this very characteristic. Well, Volkswagen Group is the first to do something about it. Starting in 2017 with the 1.4-litre TSI unit in the Volkswagen Tiguan and the 2.0 TFSI engine in the Audi A5, it will commence a programme of GPF fitment on all its products that should see up to seven million cars built for global markets equipped with the technology by 2022. Presumably, this doesn't just mean Audis, SEATs and Skodas, but also Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche machines, too.
How much cleaner will the group's petrol cars be?
Volkswagen claims emissions of fine soot particles from its TSI and TFSI vehicles could be cut by up to 90 per cent.
That's a big decrease. Anyone from the company got anything to say on the matter?
Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, head of Group Research and Development, said: "Following increases in efficiency and lower CO2 output, we are now bringing about a sustained reduction in the emission levels of our modern petrol engines by fitting particulate filters as standard." And it's not forgetting about diesel, either.
What do you mean by that?
Volkswagen Group, said to be the cleanest for EU6 emissions according to the EQUA Air Quality Index drawn up by London-based Emission Analytics, says, despite the cost and complexity of the technology, it will continue to fit selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to its diesels. Dr Eichhorn added: "In the future, all models will be equipped with the latest and most efficient SCR catalytic converter technology."
Matt Robinson - 4 Aug 2016
