Toyota Dropping Diesel Cars in Europe at the End of 2018

Toyota is moving to phase out diesel powered passenger cars in order to meet tougher future emissions rules.

By the end of 2018, Toyota will stop offering diesel-powered passenger cars in Europe. This decision has been in the making for a while, according to Toyota Europe CEO, Johan van Zyl. He adds that diesels have accounted for less than 10 percent of the automaker’s car sales in Europe.

But not all Toyota’s diesel products in Europe will disappear and the Hilux pickup truck, Land Cruiser SUV, and Proace light commercial vehicles will remain on sale.

With the introduction of the C-HR compact SUV and just now at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show the Auris, Toyota is planning to push for the production of more gasoline-electric hybrids, which now account for more than 40 percent of the company’s sales in the region. Both those vehicles do not have diesel variants.

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The Auris will be offered with a choice of two hybrids as well as a gasoline engine. The top-performing hybrid Auris will have a 2.0-liter engine that makes 180 hp. The less powerful hybrid has a 1.8-liter, 122-hp powertrain.

Toyota is counting on its expanding hybrid lineup to help it comply with tougher European emissions rules. By 2021, the fleet CO2 average for automakers in Europe drops 95 grams per kilometer from 118.1g/km now. Companies that don’t reach the target will be hit with fines.

In 2016, Toyota’s fleet average was 105.4g/km. The 2017 result was lower, Toyota said without providing a detailed figure.

“The more hybrids we sell, the better our chances” of reaching the target, Toyota Europe Chairman Didier Leroy said.

The executive added that while automakers such as Volvo will rely heavily on 48-volt mild hybrids in the future, Toyota considers mild hybrids to be inferior to the full hybrids its offers.

“For us, mild hybrids wouldn’t be a step forward,” Leroy said. When asked about plug-in hybrids, Leroy was also skeptical because he said the requirement to recharge them is a disadvantage, and when they are not recharged their environmental benefit is nullified.

[Source: Automotive News]