WOLFSBURG: Volkswagen will implement wide-scale use of particulate filters for petrol engines from 2017.
The so-called "gasoline particulate filters (GPF)" will apply to all direct injection TSI and TFSI engines, and Volkswagen said emissions of fine soot particles will be reduced in this way by up to 90%.
By 2022, the number of Volkswagen Group vehicles being equipped with this technology annually could reach seven million. The process is starting in June 2017 with the 1.4-litre TSI engine in the new Tiguan and the 2.0 TFSI in the Audi A5. Implementation will then follow in further models and engine generations.
Particulate filters for diesel engines are already proven and established. The gasoline particulate filter will now reduce the particulate emissions of direct injection petrol engines by up to 90%.
Volkswagen said independent testing bodies have established that both modern EU 6 diesel engines and petrol engines from the group were the cleanest on the market. In its EQUA Air Quality Index, for example, London-based Emission Analytics looked at the world's 440 most popular models and ranked the Volkswagen Group as the top performer by some margin.
The company ranked first in three categories: EU 6 petrol engine, EU 5 petrol engine and EU 6 hybrid vehicles. Volkswagen also said it made the best six EU 6 diesel vehicles.
