Diesel cars news UK - Major carmaker halts production of diesels over 'uncertain' future
ANOTHER major car manufacturer has ceased production of diesel cars in a push towards low-emissions vehicles in the UK.
Peugeot is the latest carmaker to confirm that it is ceasing production of diesel engines.
The carmaker has temporarily put a pause on making diesels as the future of the fuel type is “uncertain”.
PSA Group’s product director, Laurent Blanchet, told Autocar that the firm “will have to see if the market is going to delete or give up on diesel”.
“We have decided not to develop more evolutions of diesel technology because we want to see what's going to happen,” Blanchet confirmed.
This means that the carmaker may at some point in the future produce diesel cars if the market stabilises.
It follows recent news from Porsche that they will also stop producing diesel cars and similar announcements from Volvo and FCA.
Peugeot also confessed that it had “made a mistake with pushing diesels” as the move may not pay off in the long term financially.
Blanchet continued: “We have decided that, if in 2022 or 2023 the market is, say, five per cent made of up diesel, we will give up on it.
"If the market is 30 per cent, the question will be very different.
"I think nobody can say yet where the market will be.
“But what is clear is that the diesel trend is going down.
“As you know, we have launched a new 1.5-litre diesel engine, which will keep things going for now.
Pros and cons of diesel and petrol car engine emissions
“The question is not our products, because we know we have very good diesel engines and we know that diesel is very competitive in terms of CO2 emissions.”
The market share of diesel vehicles has tumbled from 50 percent in 2017 to around 36 per cent in Europe over the past year.
As more regulations such as increased car tax, parking fees and clean air zones are introduced this is also likely to further decrease the number of new diesel cars reregistered.