A future for diesel SUVs? Don't bet on it says Nissan

Nissan Australia, who has slowly reduced its diesel powertrain offerings throughout the years, sees a future where the oil-burning engine will continue to be marginalised in SUVs, possibly in favour of electric and hybrid options.

And Nissan isn’t the only brand shunning diesels, with the likes of Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai and Ford dropping the engine across some of its model lines such as the RAV4, CX-3, i30 and Escape respectively.

Speaking to CarsGuide, Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester said diesel engines are quickly falling out of favour with global manufacturers, who have to contend with tightening fleet emissions regulations.

“The challenge for diesel over the long run will be brand’s willingness to invest in order to meet various restrictions around the world,” he said.

“So eventually, it will essentially phase itself out because of no real relevance to the market.”

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Mr Lester pointed to the Patrol large SUV, which up until 2017 was offered with a diesel engine in the Y61 series, but had to be discontinued due to not meeting Euro 5 standards after 20 years in production.

“The perfect example today is Patrol. Three years ago, three and a half years ago, when I got here, the biggest impediment to Patrol, I was told, was diesel,” he said.

“We went back, looked at the drawing board, said ‘look, we really believe there’s actually much more of a market [with petrol]’.

“What then transpired was a real growth and movement … [and now] today, nobody is asking for Patrol and diesel, nobody.”

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Of Nissan Australia’s current SUV offerings – the Juke, Qashqai, Pathfinder and X-Trail – only the latter is available with an oil-burning engine in one grade.

The Qashqai was initially launched in 2014 with two diesel options, while the Pathfinder moved to petrol-only when it was updated to fourth-generation form.

Engine choices for the new X-Trail are yet to be revealed, but it is expected that the diesel engine won’t make a return and the flagship powertrain will be Nissan’s e-Power hybrid.

With diesel being the dominate choice for light-commercial vehicles (LCVs) like the Navara though, its 2.3-litre engine will likely continue going forward, but the next-gen workhorse (which will share its underpinnings with the Mitsubishi Triton), could take steps away from the oil-burning powertrain.

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However, for the short term, Mr Lester said that diesel will likely stick around, and possibly longer for Australia as there are no mandates on tailpipe emissions and pollutants.

“Diesel will be around probably longer in our market than some others, only because of how high the penetration historically has been and because of the geography of the country … so there’s probably a little bit of a market, but that’s a pretty darn small part of the overall car market,” he said.

“Other markets are running away from it, and you’ve even got very traditional stalwart European markets, they’re saying no diesel.”