Honda Will Phase Out Diesels in Europe by 2021

Honda Motor Co. says it will drop diesels from its European product lineup within three years as it shifts to electrified powertrains.

The company announced last year it would replace the diesel option in Europe for its next-generation CR-V crossover with a hybrid powertrain. The new model will go on sale there in March.

Honda will similarly switch from diesel to hybrid or all-electric options when other models are renewed, eliminating diesels entirely in Europe by 2021, Dave Hodgetts, managing director for Honda’s U.K. unit, tells Automotive News Europe.

Honda currently offers diesel iterations of its Civic hatchback and HR-V small crossover vehicle. The carmaker’s first all-electric vehicle, based on the Urban EV small car concept (pictured) that it unveiled at the Geneva auto show last year, is due in 2019.

The company has predicted that two-thirds of the vehicles it sells in Europe will be electrified by 2025. Last year Honda’s overall sales in that market fell 12% to 140,300 units, according to trade group ACEA. Deliveries through the first 10 months of 2018 totaled 118,400 units, down 2%.