FCA's Diesel Passenger Cars Are Set To Die Off By 2022

Thanks mostly to the Dieselgate scandal, oil-burning cars have well and truly fallen out of favour, both with consumers and governments of the world. That’s why Porsche last week announced it was dropping all engines of this type from its range, and in a few year’s time, it looks like a far bigger player will follow suit: Fiat Chrysler.

Citing insider sources, the Financial Times reports that on 1 June FCA will be revealing a four-year plan to phase out diesel engines from all of its brands. Yep, by 2022 the automotive giant will have ditched diesel, although not quite entirely - this applies only to passenger cars, as there will apparently be diesel engine options available for commercial vehicles like the Dodge Ram (pictured below).

New car buyers shirking vehicles powered by these kinds of engines in favour for petrols, hybrids and EVs is no doubt a factor, but it’s believed the driving force behind the change is the increasing cost of keeping diesel engines in line with tightening regulations. And make no mistake, these regulations are only going to get more stringent, as governments around the world - many of which were pushing diesel not so long ago - clamp down on emissions.

It’d be a huge change for FCA, given that over 40 per cent of the cars it sold last year were in fact diesels. It also won’t be the last car company to move away from the fuel - expect more reports and announcements along these lines to emerge the next few months.