TOYOTA HAS STATED that it will begin phasing out diesel engines from its passenger car range starting this year. While the announcement is not entirely surprising, Toyota is the first major car brand to confirm the move away from diesel.
Toyota has championed its hybrid technology for two decades now and in more recent times with models like the C-HR, has not offered a diesel variant. Toyota has also seen a big increase in the uptake of its hybrid models, last year Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) accounted for 78 per cent of C-HR sales.
Overall, in 2017, HEVs represented 41 per cent of Toyota Motor Europe total sales, rising +38 per cent year-on-year to 406,000 units. In contrast, Toyota’s diesel mix on passenger cars was less than 10 per cent in 2017. Currently, just 20 percent of Toyota models sold in Ireland are diesel. It is this strong demand for HEV versions of its core models that helped Toyota come to the decision about phasing out diesel engines from all its passenger cars in 2018.
The move away from diesel was also made easier as Toyota mainly buys in diesel engines through partnerships with other engine manufacturers for its passenger cars.
Steve Tormey, CEO of Toyota Ireland said:
I am proud to be in the driver’s seat of a company that is willing to make the difficult decision to lead the Irish market out of diesel and help deliver cleaner air quality for our future and that of our children’s’ children.
Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten said:
I welcome Toyota’s leadership on this. As a country we have no option but to move towards a zero emissions vehicle society to help protect our environment, improve our health and to ensure the next generation doesn’t suffer from complacency or inaction now. Climate change requires all of us to make changes and Toyota’s initiative will significantly help lead us on our low-carbon journey.
Toyota will however continue to offer diesel options in commercial vehicles such as the HiLux, Land Cruiser and Proace van as this fuel is still seen as the most practical for such vehicles.
Kicking off this new powertrain strategy is the new Auris. Similar to the decision taken in 2016, to introduce Toyota C-HR without a diesel version, the new generation Auris will only be offered with petrol and HEV powertrains, one of which will be a new 2.0-litre 180hp HEV unit.
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