Diesel engines run more efficiently than gasoline engines, and, given the fact that current hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic with their systems can not even match the fuel efficiency of way better performing, European turbo-diesels of equal size (e.g. VW Golf & Passat Tdi, Audi A3 & A4 Tdi, various Peigeots, Renaults, Citroens, Fiats, BMW 120d, etc.), I wonder why they didn’t choose a diesel as a component of their hybrid systems over the current gasoline engines used in that combination. Or are they just doing the “hybrid notion” for PR purposes, and don’t want to get “too efficient” anyway?
I would lean towards the emissions. Diesels produce a higher level of large particulate matter which don’t lend them to a simple catalytic converter. They would quickly become clogged.
Diesels may be more fuel efficient but are currently dirtier than gasoline powered engines.
For that matter, why aren’t they promoting the use of “bio-diesel” for the same purpose? They use diesel on ships to power the generators that ultimately power the ship… same principle, different scale. The sad part is that the technology is here and NOW, its just a matter of changing infrastructure. We also have to remember that there are a LOT of people who will probably be out of a job when this change does in fact take place, and not just the CEO’s but our neighbors and people we know who in some way are related to oil sales either directly or indirectly.
The idea of a hybrid is a farce, If not for incentives and give aways from the government they would be so outrageously priced they wouldn’t be affordable. So no, they do not and cannot make them more efficient right now. We did our own system a disservice with diesel years ago when we dismantled the delivery system because Americans want quick speed rather than efficiency.
The other main reason of gas over diesel – immediate speed.