Why is gas engine US only?

[rothskeller]

So, we've all read that the 2019 Sprinter will have an available gas engine. The information available so far says that it's only an option in the US and Canada, not in Europe. But Europe is where anti-diesel sentiment is strongest, and growing. Does anyone have a guess why Daimler wouldn't be offering the same gas engine there? I don't understand it.

[carringb]

Nobody in Europe would ever consider a gas engine in a full size van, at this point anyways. The anti-diesel sentiment is a very new development there, and may only exist with regulatory agencies and politicians, I'm not sure that sentiment has caught on with the general public yet.

As it stands now, their fuel-tax structure and oil-refineries both support lower diesel prices than gas. Plus fuel is substantially more expensive anyways, so you combined the fuel economy benefit with the fuel cost benefit, and there's still no reason to by a large gas van over there.

On the flip-side....Daimler has been struggling to get the diesels certified for the US. The outgoing Sprinter was on hold for a while, and it took some serious lobbying to get a waiver to resume sales. That waiver won't be valid for the new model. Offering the gas model ensures they can continue selling Sprinters (the gas motor was already certified in other vehicles) while they work through certifying the diesels.

[Bbasso]

I heard the warranty claims because people are not using the appropriate diesel are causing Mercedes-Benz tons and tons of money.

[Bbasso]

After some quick research, the VW dieselgate has put the Gov on a hunt for false info from manufacturers...
So MBUSA said they would consider keeping but unclear atm.

[PeteM]

Originally Posted by rothskeller

So, we've all read that the 2019 Sprinter will have an available gas engine. The information available so far says that it's only an option in the US and Canada, not in Europe. But Europe is where anti-diesel sentiment is strongest, and growing. Does anyone have a guess why Daimler wouldn't be offering the same gas engine there? I don't understand it.

Keep in mind the European 'ban' on diesels is actually just a court ruling allowing individual cities or regions to regulate entry of older (Euro1-Euro5) diesel vehicles in certain times or places. Newer Euro 6 diesels, similar to US EPA 2010 standards, would still be allowed.

There has been some discussion of future stricter standards in some core city areas. But those would likely impact all internal combustion engines so gas, unless used in a shutdown hybrid mode, wouldn't help.

For EU owners of older diesel vehicles the biggest likely impact would be a precipitous drop in resale value, which would probably be dumped onto eastern European markets without such strict regulations.