Fear and recent scandal have caused Nissan to rethink the diesel models its been selling in Europe for a long time and begin to move away from diesel power.

There’s been a huge shift in the market that has been coming for many years but the Volkswagen diesel scandal of 2015 has made it abundantly clear that diesel isn’t long for the automotive world. Many of the automakers that have been selling a large number of diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Europe have to either adjust to new and stricter regulations or stop selling these models. These new regulations have already turned away at least one automaker that will slowly stop selling diesel models in Europe and focus instead on the future of the market.

Nissan Moves Away from Diesel Slowly

The movement away from diesel and toward hybrid and EV models has become evident in Europe and Nissan will slowly stop selling these models in response to the crackdown on emissions that have been performed across the continent. Nissan may be the first automaker to begin making this change, but they are certainly not going to be the only one and we may quickly see that diesel models aren’t going to be used in passenger vehicles which would put this fuel back into the larger trucks and commercial vehicles, which is what this fuel was originally created for in the first place.

Zero Emissions is the Goal for Nissan

Nissan may not be the only automaker moving toward hybrid and EV models and they certainly aren’t the only ones leaving diesel either. FCA and Toyota have also announced a stoppage of sales for diesel vehicles in Europe in the upcoming years. Toyota will end its diesel sales by the end of this year with FCA putting a date of the end of these models of 2022. Nissan has yet to set a date to end the change, but the sales will begin to decline this year.

An Instant Change to the Diesel Market

The interest in diesel models has waned and trust in a vehicle with this fuel as the source of power has declined in the past three years. Nearly every automaker is working toward more than just lower emissions as they look to make a world where passenger vehicles offer no emissions at all. This means electricity will be used more widely and hydrogen may replace diesel at the pumps we go to when we’re ready to fill up. By deleting the highest-emissions vehicles from the market there will be an immediate impact on air quality and the comfort we feel on the road.

Nissan Partners with Renault

This move by Nissan isn’t just significant for the continued effort of offering lower emissions, the partnership Nissan has with Renault could mean we see even fewer diesel models in the future. Renault has been a large supporter of diesel cars for many years, but with this change for Nissan, you can expect this partner to follow along and begin to reduce the number of diesel passenger vehicles they offer as well. We may see the death of diesel in our passenger vehicles in the near future as the market sees longer ranges for EV models and more hybrids being offered for the driving we need to do every day.