Toyota RAV4 Diesel Killed Off as Fuel Type Falls Out of Favor
It’s the end of the road for the Toyota RAV4 diesel. The Japanese automaker has officially killed off the oil-burning crossover in Europe.
A brand spokesperson told Autocar in a Thursday report that a number of RAV4 diesel models remain in stock, but production has officially ended. For customers still looking for a RAV4 diesel, they’ll have to scour dealership inventory as “no new specific orders can be placed,” per Toyota.
With the end of RAV4 diesel production, it leaves two powertrains engines left: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid.
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The spokesperson also told the publication that the RAV4 diesel’s end comes as Toyota prepares to introduce the 2019 RAV4 model. The new crossover SUV will be based on the automaker’s Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform and arrive with updated versions of the current gasoline and hybrid engines. No diesel model is planned.
Diesel vehicles, once a go-to choice for European drivers, have nosedived in popularity in recent years. Local governments have taken steps to clean up air quality and reduce emissions, while some countries have outlined outright bans on cars powered by internal-combustion engines in the future. Meanwhile, electric cars and plug-in hybrids have stolen focus from traditional diesel technology.
[Source: Autocar]
A version of this story originally appeared on Hybrid Cars.
More by Sean Szymkowski
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