Toyota Has Announced The End Of Diesel Engines In Its European Cars

Toyota is to phase out all diesel engines right across its European passenger car ranges, starting immediately and taking full effect before the end of the year.

It becomes the first big-volume manufacturer to make the move after Porsche announced a couple of weeks ago that it was axing its diesels immediately.

Demand for Toyota’s diesels in Europe has been slow, anyway, despite adopting BMW diesels a few years ago to improve performance and reduce emissions without having to make the huge research and development costs involved.

While diesels will still be sold in Toyota vans, pickups and the Land Cruiser, the Japanese brand is set to rely on the ever-increasing popularity of its hybrids to meet its passenger car sales targets on this continent. Last year hybrids made up 41 per cent of Toyota’s European registrations, compared to less than 10 per cent for diesels.

It spells trouble for the super-comfy Avensis, though, which has never been given a hybrid drivetrain in order to protect sales of the smaller, less practical Prius, and sells mainly as a diesel. Time will tell whether it gains the new, 178bhp 2.0-litre hybrid set to debut in the new Auris.