Toyota to cease diesel car sales in Europe

Toyota has revealed that from this year onwards, the company will start phasing out diesel engines from all its passenger cars in Europe. The move comes at a time when the company has reported a fall in the sales of the diesel engine vehicles. The numbers for the hybrid vehicles on the other hand have gone up considerably.

Toyota Motor Europe CEO, Johan van Zyl, revealed at the Geneva Motor Show that diesel would be phased primarily based on customer demand. According to the 2017 numbers from the company, sales of the diesel cars in Europe have fallen to mid-10%, while those of the hybrid cars have gone up to 41% in just 2 years, with a year-on-year growth of 38%. This new plan from the Japanese automaker will not only cover Europe, but also Russian and Turkish markets. It must be noted that Toyota will continue to offer diesel engines on its commercial vehicles like the Hilux, Proace and Land Cruiser.

Additionally, regulation in Europe requires automakers to limit the average CO2 emissions below 95 grams/km in 2021. Toyota aims to meet this by raising the total share of hybrid car sales to over 50% and launching all-electric vehicles by 2020. For now, the company will release its Auris (Corolla based hatchback) without any diesel option while offering two hybrid options in Europe.