Yokohama - Nissan has apparently become the latest car company to slam the door on diesel engines.
Nikkei Asian Review
reports that Nissan has decided not to develop any new oil burning engines as it plans to phase the engine out of its passenger car ranges in the early 2020s.
This is due to stricter environmental regulations around the globe and an anticipated further decline in demand for diesel-powered cars.
But where does this leave vehicles like the Navara, where diesel is an essential part of the model mix, or its X-Class sibling for that matter, to which it also donates a turbodiesel engine?
According to the Japanese publication, Nissan will continue to offer diesel engines in its commercial vehicles, but they will be outsourced from other companies.
This won’t be Renault, before you ask, as the French company is reportedly also canning diesel power.
Many other carmakers ditching diesel
Other carmakers have similar plans, with Volvo and Fiat Chrysler having recently announced plans to phase out its diesel engines, while Toyota has started the process of culling diesel engines from certain passenger car line-ups, such as the new Auris and Rav4.
There has been a steady move away from diesel power in recent years, with many cities around the world currently planning to ban diesel-powered vehicles and others enforcing restrictions.
This is in the wake of recent emissions cheating scandals, as well as increasing awareness that many diesel engines emit excessive nitrogen oxide emissions that are damaging to human health.
Many car companies are realising that meeting future emissions standards for diesel engines is simply not worth the vast investment it would entail.
However, some are bucking the trend, with Volkswagen - which sparked all the fury in the first place - predicting a diesel renaissance, although the German carmaker is expected to ditch smaller diesel engines due to those aforementioned development costs.
Mercedes-Benz is also expected to continue developing diesel-powered cars, alongside the electrification plans that seemingly every car company has committed to in recent times.