FCA to abandon diesel for passenger cars by 2022

While FCA’s four year plan will only be revealed on June 1st, The Financial Times said today, according to sources with strategic knowledge about the Fiat Chrysler plans, that the Italian-American carmaker intends to abandon diesel engines for its passenger cars by 2022, because of the decline in demand for the maligned fuel type following the Dieselgate-scandal and taxation changes making diesel less interesting as a fuel for passenger vehicles. On the other hand, the ever increasing severity of emission regulations makes the development of new diesel engines more expensive than ever, which results in higher retail prices and even less commercial potential.

FCA, owner of American brands Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler and Italian marques Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, did not want to confirm the news as of yet. However, it is not the first carmaker to ditch diesels. Before FCA, Toyota already announced to phase out diesel engines for their passenger cars, as do Volvo and Porsche, that just cancelled the sales of the Macan diesel, the only diesel car it had left in its model range. At PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS), the current new 1.5 BlueHDi is believed to be the last newly developed diesel engine.

The decline of the diesel market share in Europe is remarkable. From the dominant fuel type in many European countries, it has become second choice for most buyers following Dieselgate and the consequent political opposition to this fuel type since it became clear that the “green” promises on diesel made by the car industry and Volkswagen in particular were the result of fraudulent engineering. Furthermore, low emission zones that ban older diesel vehicles from a growing number of city centres do not contribute to diesel car sales. A rapid and remarkable evolution, given the fact that not all too long ago, many governments actively promoted diesel as a fuel for passenger cars because of its lower CO2-emissions, with bonuses and fiscal incentives. Jato Dynamics figures indicate a decline in diesel vehicle sales in Europe of 8 per cent in 2017, resulting in a market share of 43.8 per cent.

Source: Financial Times

Photo: Alfa Romeo