The Car Hub

The above title reflects the message of Dr Thomas Weber head of Group Research and Development at Mercedes with reference to the new  Euro V1 emissions standard to be introduced in 2015.
Europe-wide car manufacturers are now trying to cope with the Euro V emissions standard which on diesel vehicles involves the requirement of costly fuel injectors and particulate filters. The fitting of these diesel particulate filters has not proved a 100% success due to reported malfunctions which require garage attention.
The inclusion of Euro V1 standards is reported to involve expensive adaptations to exhausts which are estimated to add extra thousands to new factory produced diesels, just when we drivers thought the new economical, low emission diesels currently being produced were the answer.
Dr Weber forecasts that major manufacturers of diesel cars will also have to produce diesel hybrid models to satisfy market demand which will result in large price increases.
As a result of the above, with the current search for more energy efficient propulsion, it is thought (in Mercedes terms) that a hydrogen cell car will become a more affordable alternative to diesel/fossil fuel engines.
Current forecasts predict that once the transportation and storage of hydrogen is sorted the market price could be around €3.00, approx. £2.70 per kilo which on average consumption should take you 60 miles, not bad really if you use a simple petrol comparison of say 40mpg @£5 per gallon.
Two important questions for answering: come 2015 how long will EU regulations allow non-conforming Euro V vehicles to remain on the roads without change, and what will be the part exchange value of such cars then?
Ken Wilson