Hyundai Motor said Tuesday it would not postpone the domestic rollout of its diesel cars despite growing concerns about pollutants from the engine.

“We are going to launch diesel models of Genesis EQ900 and G80 as planned,” a senior official of Hyundai Motor told The Korea Herald. 

The automaker’s denial came amid growing speculation that the rollout of the luxury sedans’ diesel models -- slated for next year -- will be delayed because of local consumers’ growing worries over diesel engines’ impact on air quality and the government’s push to regulate harmful nitrogen oxide emitted by the engines.

“Unlike outsiders’ view, it is difficult to delay the release date, let’s say, to more than a year, considering the long-term period of a new car development,” said another Hyundai spokesperson.

Hyundai is not alone in pushing for diesel car sales despite concerns over air pollution. All the Korean arms of German automakers here -- Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and even Volkswagen, which ignited global outrage with the emissions scandal -- said they have no plan to reduce the diesel car sales for the time being.

This is because, experts said, automakers have no best alternative to diesel engines yet.

“Although hybrid cars are fast growing now, they are still too expensive to be an immediate alternative to diesel cars,” said Kim Dae-won, a professor of Chonnam National University’s automobile department.

However, most experts and automakers share a view that it would be hard to see the same fast growth the diesel cars have enjoyed over the past decade. Green cars would eventually become dominant players, replacing diesel cars, they say.

That was witnessed at the International Busan Motor Show held early this month where visitors could peep into the future strategies of automakers. At the event, diesel cars were hardly seen among the 46 new cars, except for a handful of sport utility vehicles such as Volkswagen’s new Tiguan and Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are also giving more weight to green cars for their future investment.

Hyundai Motor’s vice chairman Kwon Moon-sik said at the motor show, “Although diesel cars will not easily be collapsed, (we) should not too much rely on them. We plan to focus our development capacity to eco-friendly cars.”

General Motors Korea is currently the only automaker lacking plans to launch diesel-powered cars -- including its sought-after Malibu -- for the time being.

“We decided that it is not right time to roll out diesel cars considering local consumers’ growing concerns on the engine issue,” an official from GM Korea said.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)