Nissan to End Diesel Car Sales in Europe on Strict Emission Rule

(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. will stop sales of diesel cars in Europe as the region moves to tougher emission standards after Volkswagen AG’s pollution-test scandal.

Japan’s second-largest carmaker will stop offering diesel versions of passenger cars at the time of each vehicle’s renewal in the coming years, Nicholas Maxfield, a spokesman in Tokyo, said Monday. The automaker will concentrate on pushing sales of electrified vehicles, he said.

Diesel-car sales in Europe slumped after Volkswagen admitted to cheating on emission tests in 2015, and demand for such models is set to fall further as regulators put tougher standards into place starting 2020. Nissan’s plan follows that of Toyota Motor Corp., which said in March it will phase out diesel engines from all its passenger cars beginning this year.

Nissan sold 128,456 diesel cars in Europe last year, or about 16 percent of its total deliveries in the region, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. It manufactures diesel passenger cars such as the Juke and Qashqai in Sunderland, England, and the Micra compact in Flins, France.

Nissan produces diesel commercial vehicles including the Navara and NV200 in Barcelona. While diesel remains an important fuel technology for light commercial vehicles such as pickup trucks, the company will be reducing its share in this area as well, with the introduction of electrified powertrains, Maxfield said in an email.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ma Jie in Tokyo at jma124@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Lena Lee, Ville Heiskanen

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