Toyota may look to follow in Volvo’s footsteps, as it too is considering dropping diesel engines altogether in Europe due to ever-demanding emission standards. The possible move is also a result of lacklustre sales of Toyota diesel vehicles on the Continent.
Karl Schlicht, executive vice president of Toyota Europe, said in an Autocar report that with the Yaris diesel model “taking up less than 10%” of its overall sales, it could be dropped in time.
Additionally, Schlicht was not convinced on the future of diesel engines. “I think that anyone looking at investing in a new diesel plant, which might have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, will have to look long and hard at whether they would get payback,” he said.
With downsized petrol engines and hybrid powertrains providing cleaner and possibly cheaper alternatives to diesel. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson has said that diesel engines may be more expensive, as they require advanced after-treatment with additional fluids to ensure they meet emission standards.
As such, it doesn’t make for a very strong case to carry on with the oil burners. However, don’t expect a hybrid Hilux just yet, as passenger vehicles are most likely the first to ditch diesel engines in favour of downsized petrol and hybrid powertrains.
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Toyota spent over 300mil buying shares in Isuzu just for their Diesel tech; wonder how this effects Isuzu..
This one only apply to small cars in Europe. Everywhere else diesel is king and hilux is king.
If hailat ditch oil burner, 1st to die is in tomyam and MY/borneo.
then no more diesel drag thailand..no more alphatech
“Additionally, Schlicht was not convinced on the future of diesel engines.”
At least there’s no future for diesel engines from Toyota. They source the diesel engines for their european lineup already from Peugeot since more than a decade.
Stop dreaming. What we have today is not enough to replace Diesel power. What we might have in 10yrs is still a dream and is beyond auto manufacturer’s control since they are not developing the alternative fuel source. We need something that is price comparable to Diesel and is in full commercialisation stage now for the world to totally drop Diesel engines and switch over in their vehicles and machines in the next 5-10yrs.