For the sake of the DA42 operators out there, i hope thielert are rescued & re-designed.
It would seem that Diamond do actually have an in house program to provide a replacement engine for the DA40/42 et al. Unfortunately, it too, is based on the Mercedes A Block but they appear to be taking a different tack than Thielert in their approach to gearing.
Whether this has any bearing (no pun intended) on Diamond's stance with Kubler, is hard to tell.
The big attraction of the DA42 is the phenomenal range afforded the aircraft by virtue of the economy of the diesel engine. Apparently, the lycoming powered version was a rocket ship but used up all the available payload in the extra fuel that had to be housed to give it a reasonable range.
Also, the Diesel DA42 is very smooth and quiet whereas the Lyc version is apparently neither (haven't flown that version but can attest to the diesel).
So, apart from the fact that the retro fitting of conventional petrol engines has a big hit on the aircraft AND makes it difficult to operate in many parts of the world, it really is the age of the diesel until electric/fuel cell engines come to pass (Don't hold your breath).
Thielert did at least try. Pioneers don't always have easy lives it seems.
The article by Bertorelli is only guilty of the journo's disease of stretching the best/worst case scenario gap.