Caddy Puts Diesels on Back Burner in Favor of Electrification

General Motors Co.’s Cadillac unit is shelving plans to offer diesel-powered models.

Cadillac had planned to offer 4- and 6-cylinder diesels on select models in Europe and the U.S. in coming years. This included the just-launched 2019 XT4 compact crossover (pictured).

The luxury brand now is shifting its focus to electrification, Cadillac President Steve Carlisle told reporters at the launch of the XT4 last week in Seattle. He acknowledges that the industry may be “changing more quickly” than Cadillac had anticipated.

The move toward electrification, coupled with the ongoing fallout from Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal, stymied Cadillac’s diesels plans. Another contributing factor was last year’s sale of GM’s Opel/Vauxhall unit—which had been working with Cadillac on the diesel engines—to PSA Group, Automotive News notes.

But that doesn’t mean GM is dropping diesels entirely. In the U.S., the company currently offers diesel engines in the Chevrolet Cruze small car and Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain crossover models. The 2019 Chevy Silverado/GMC fullsize pickups also are getting a new 6-cylinder diesel.