Diesel Ford Fiesta axed in UK as mild-hybrid petrol introduced
Fiesta is now petrol-only in UK, with Ford citing "very, very low" sales volumes for diesel supermini
Ford has removed diesel variants for the Fiesta from price lists as sales of oil-burning cars fall to their lowest point in decades.
Confirmed by a spokesman for the brand, the ever-popular supermini was previously available with two 1.5-litre four-cylinder TDCi units putting out 84bhp and 118bhp.
However, both have been taken off sale to coincide with the introduction of the Fiesta MHEV, a 48V mild-hybrid version of the 1.0-litre Ecoboost turbo petrol.
At the launch of the current, eighth-generation Fiesta in 2017, Ford predicted diesel variants would account for around 9% of the Fiesta’s UK volume. The UK spokesman confirmed that volumes are indeed “very, very low” and have been declining steadily in line with market trends.
Sales of diesel cars in general have been declining for the past half-decade across Europe, with blame laid at the door of the Volkswagen Group Dieselgate scandal and subsequent shifts in public - and government - opinions on the fuel.
From a 50% market share in 2014, the fuel made up just 18.4% of sales in September 2020 as hybrids and EVs continued to gain ground.
Manufacturers are slowly killing off diesel variants of existing models; for example, Mazda confirmed last week that its 6 saloon and estate (a company car favourite that used to have a diesel-heavy mix) will become petrol-only later this year.
*Read more*
*Ford Fiesta 1.0 MHEV ST-Line X 2020 UK review*
*Ford Focus ST Estate 2.0 EcoBlue 2019 review*
*2020 Ford Focus gains mild hybrid options, new Zetec variant*