Nissan sounds death knell for diesel

Nissan has announced plans to begin phasing out diesel powertrains in Europe as it commits more investment to electric technology and alternative fuels.

The Japanese car maker confirmed the news overnight amid tax increases, looming bans and restrictions for diesel in several European countries. The exit strategy closely parallels a similar rollout from Toyota announced in March.

In a plan that will ultimately bear ramifications for diesel sales in Australia, Nissan says it will continue to offer the oil burning technology in the short term before a gradual withdrawal from the European market.

"Along with other manufacturers and industry bodies we can see the progressive decline of diesel but we do not anticipate its sudden end in the short-term," a Nissan spokeswoman told Automotive News Europe.

"At this point in time and for many customers, modern diesel engines will remain in demand and continue to be available within Nissan's powertrain offering."

Speaking with motoring.com.au, Nissan Australia corporate communications general manager Karla Leach said the withdrawal from diesel sales would not take effect as quickly in the local market.

“The announcement is going to have no immediate impact in Australia. The majority of cars we source are from Thailand and the United States. The cars we source out of the UK are Qashqai, which we don’t offer in diesel, and the Leaf,” Leach said.

“The actions out of the UK are potentially a good indication of what’s going to happen in the future as the industry evolves into other alternative energy and fuel sources.

“Across all of our brands, we definitely have a clear focus on electrification but that as an industry step has probably occurred a lot quicker in Europe than Australia.”

The slowing business case for diesel has already claimed one victim in Nissan's local line-up, the Y61 Patrol, which succumbed to increasingly stringent emissions standards last year.

According to reports, Nissan will soon cut hundreds of jobs at its Sunderland plant, home to the Qashqai, because of dwindling diesel sales in Europe. Bloomberg Intelligence says Nissan sold 128,456 diesel cars in Europe last year, which accounted for 16 per cent of total deliveries across the region.

The big question surrounds the future use of diesel in Nissan’s commercial range. The oil burning technology is currently central to the appeal of models including the Navara, but even those models will eventually succumb to falling demand, according to Nissan.

Toyota’s announcement in March comes as figure show diesel accounts for less than 10 per cent of its European sales. Toyota has committed to offering future diesel variants of the LandCruiser, HiLux pick-up and HiAce van – for now, at least.