BMW has become the latest brand to remove a number of diesel engine options from its UK range, including Mini, as demand for the fuel continues to drop.
Confirmed by the brand in a statement sent to Autocar, the 2 Series Coupé and 2 Series Convertible are now solely available with only petrol engines, ranging from a 1.5-litre three-cylinder in the 218i to the 3.0-litre straight six in the M240i.
It's understood that this is primarily down to the need to upgrade the diesel engines to meet the forthcoming Euro 6d emissions standard, which BMW has decided isn't worthwhile, given that these cars are due to be replaced next year.
However, Mini will cease taking orders for the diesel Mini Countryman Cooper D SUV despite a Euro 6d-compliant engine being added only in July. This is down to reduced customer demand for the fuel, with a spokesman confirming the product range is “reviewed and refined on an ongoing basis in order to reflect customer preferences”.
Finally, BMW has ceased Europe-wide production of the range-topping M50d versions of the X5, BMW X6 and BMW X7 SUVs. Introduced in 2016, the quad-turbocharged six-cylinder engine put out 395bhp and 561lb ft in those applications. Although not officially confirmed, previous reports suggest the engine’s complexity has made it too expensive to produce as diesel falls out of favour.
Many manufacturers have either reduced or culled entirely their range of oil-burners in the last few years. The fuel’s market share is down to around a fifth in 2020, while data recently gathered by Autocar shows the number of diesel variants offered for sale in the UK has almost halved in the past five years.
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Another dumb idea from the car manufacturers. Diesel engines produce far fewer CO2 emiisions than petrol and are the cleanest form of ICE. A team in Lougborough university have invented a process which also splits NoX2 towater and nitogen. That means they can be made cleaner than petrol,and if you take into account the poisonous elements in electric cars eg lithium for one which has to be mined creating eyesores on the landscape and producing pollution in their recovery; then diesel is the future not these pathetic electric milk floats. The life of the battery and the recycling also means that the cost per mile is higher than diesel to
So true, the States never liked diesel cars, dont think asia did either. You can partially blame the eu for diesel getting to such a stupid level though.
Absolute crap from you as usual - diesel is the way to go for ICE engines due to its efficiency and lower CO2 output, the EU is to blame not for promoting diesel, but for having emissions standards that were far too lax for particulates and NOx, had they enforced tougher standards 12 years ago, diesel woudl still be selling well.
More BS from you, the US didnt have a problem with diesel, VW spent millions on a big diesel push into the American market, the problem was they cheated on their emissions and got found out, and America didnt forget, if anyone is to blame for the decline its them, there is absolutely nothing wrong with modern diesel engines, as long as they are used as intended, for long distances, tootling around town does them no favours whatsoever. Dont blame the technology, blame the dealers and the manufacturers for pushing them to everyone to drive around town in little city cars, at one stage VW didnt even offer a petrol engined Passat for sale in the UK. Its also down to the flawed policy introduced by Labour to based VED on CO2, thus encouraging everyone to buy a diesel to pay less tax.
I have favoured diesels in daily drivers for many years, for their torque, efficiency and economy. This announcement is however good news, so far as the X5, X6, X7 are concerned. Without efficient diesel engines the running costs will rise and hopefully fewer people will buy these monstrous SUVs and the road-scape will improve as a result?