A lot of people see hybrids and plug in hybrids as a great middle ground between ICE and EV, so why not make a diesel hybrid. They can be used in a variety of vehicles, and can reduce the nox and particulate emissions diesels are known for. So why isn’t there a modern diesel hybrid being produced, at least as a passenger car?
In: Engineering
Look up Edison motors on YouTube. They are prototyping a diesel electric semi truck right now with plans on a pickup version.
As to your question: I believe most consumer hybrids use the “fuel” engine all the time with electric support. So the engine has to operate efficiently over a wide band which as stated in other parts of this post is less gooder with a diesel engine. I think if they went with full electric drive and a built on generator it would be considerably better. My 2 cents though.
They do exist:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_508#508_RXH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_508#508_RXH)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_E-Class_(W213)#Drivetrain_(2016%E2%80%932020)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_E-Class_(W213)#Drivetrain_(2016%E2%80%932020))
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_E-Class_(W214)#Plug-in_hybrids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_E-Class_(W214)#Plug-in_hybrids)
Mercedes-Benz produce both gasoline and diesel versions of their current generation hybrids. The diesel hybrids are known for having a long highway cruising range, with the benefit of lower emissions in the city. The reason diesel hybrids are not more common is simply price – most people will opt for the cheaper gasoline version. In Germany people tend to opt for the diesel version only if they spend a lot of time on the highway and want to reduce refuelling stops.
Other manufacturers used to produce diesel hybrids up until a few years ago: Range Rover, Volvo, Peugeot. They were not very popular, so they were discontinued.
Edit for some more context: diesel engines are really good at running efficiently for long periods of time. The higher energy capacity of diesel allows for longer stroke, which means the engine can make good torque at lower speeds. This means there is less wear on the engine, which gives diesels their reputation for longevity. So a diesel hybrid is an attractive option if you are constantly running the engine, i.e. on long highway drives.
Petrol engines on the other hand are less efficient over time, but they are more suited to stop-start applications i.e. driving around town. Hybrids are also most efficient at low speeds around town, which is why they’re generally more suited to petrol engines.
Politics 💯. US politicians have made it very difficult for Auto makers to use diesel engines in passenger vehicles.
There were: https://www.carwow.co.uk/hybrid-cars/diesel#gref
But GM then VW kind of ruined diesel’s reputation for a while.
most of the negitives on desiel in this post are so silly, they act like there are not SMALL cars all over the world with tiny ass deisels getting amazing mpg numbers. Ohh they got to warm up, ohh they are larger and heavier, they are more complicated. like some many excuses and zero good reasons listed.
a mini one diesel has a rated mpg of like 80 by it self. add a hybrid drive train and it will likely break 100, and diesels are great on the highway and at constant load where electric does not help as much.
To op. there has to be a reason, I assume its corporate greed in some fashion ( as well as the standard of making most cars only have 300 miles range give or take). but maybe someone will actully give a REAL good reason aside from all these joke excuses.
Here’s another perspective, beyond the engineering limitations:
The half gas half EV cars are a dud product. They are specious and deceptively alluring to someone hesitant about EV but in reality EV ownership is not difficult. EVs really are the future based on how superior and more convenient they are.
It reminds me of the tentative nervousness around ditching physical keyboards on touchscreen phones, when the end result after taking the plunge into full touchscreen-no-keyboard it’s really not that bad.
Thought:
– I’ll charge my car for 50km/miles as I needed it! Plug it in to my home!
– Reality: If you are committing to finding a plug for it, why not just plug it in once a week and get 500km rather than a tiny bit every day? It’s less plugging and more duration.
Thought:
– If I run out of EV battery, I’ll be in trouble!
– Reality: When you have 500km on your tank, you realize you need to drive for a 10-20 hours (and not return home) before you might run out of juice. The reality is the EV is at 100% full much more often than a gas car (practically always at 100% when you wake up). Pretend a personal attendant comes to your home and fills your gas. That’s the state of your battery usually.
Thought:
– My road trip will be 20 minutes faster since gas is faster than charging
– Your road trip will be 20 minutes faster since you leave home at 100% and don’t need to gas it right away
– I will admit on a very very long haul where you rarely stop for lunch/stretch legs, the EV is worse, since you’ll need to charge twice a day meaning it’s 40 minutes more, which is meaningful
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