Stellantis has backtracked further from its previous “EV-only before 2030” mandate by reintroducing diesel engines to select products in Europe.
Electric-only future switched off
Back in 2021, the multi-brand conglomerate announced its intentions to have all of its European brands go electric by 2030, starting with Fiat in 2025 and ending with Opel/Vauxhall in 2028.
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Despite the gradual roll-out of its EV-optimised STLA platforms, Stellantis has, since last year, begun backtracking on its electric-only policy due to declining uptake in Europe.
More recently, it revived the Hemi V8 engine for the Ram 1500 in the United States, discontinued its plug-in hybrid 4xe Jeep models, and completely abandoned the delayed electric Ram 1500.
Model rethink
Last month, Alfa Romeo announced it would delay the next generation Giulia and Stelvio until 2028 from their supposed unveilings in 2026. Both were to debut as EVs.
A further turnaround has been Fiat, which introduced a hybrid version of the 500 last year due to poor uptake of the significantly pricier electric-only 500e.
Diesel comeback
According to a report by Reuters, the return of diesel not only applies to certain half-ton vans, but also the Peugeot 308 and DS No. 4.
Up an until now, diesel has still been offered in the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Alfa Romeo Tonale, Giulia and Stelvio, the Peugeot 2008 and the DS No. 7.
“We have decided to keep diesel engines in our product portfolio and – in some cases – to increase our powertrain offer,” Stellantis told the publication in a statement.
Based on the publication’s own data, diesel sales only made-up 7.7% of all new cars sold last year in Europe, versus the 19.5% of EVs.
“If you look at the direction of travel when it comes to diesel, Stellantis now seems to be bucking the trend,” CarGurus UK‘s Chris Knapman told Reuters.
“Chinese car brands are coming in with lots of new electric and plug-in hybrid cars. If you’re a European brand looking to differentiate yourself, diesel is an area where you could have a competitive advantage over those newer brands”.
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