Ford has made a raft of changes to its line-up, which include the removal of diesel engines from its popular Kuga SUV.
The mid-size model was launched in its third generation last year, with Ford offering the Kuga with a variety of petrol and diesel engines, as well as a hugely efficient plug-in hybrid from launch. Last year the line-up also grew to include a regular hybrid model.
Now the firm has removed the 1.5- and 2.0-litre diesel engine options from the range entirely, as these models were said to account for just 10 per cent of the SUV’s sales, according to Autocar.
It now means the only diesel Ford car is the Focus hatchback and estate, with the rest of the range being either a petrol (some of which are mild-hybrid), a full or plug-in hybrid, or an EV. However, commercial models will continue to be sold with diesel engines.
Ford has also made changes to the rest of its range, with the soon-to-be-discontinued Mondeo, along with the S-Max and Galaxy MPVs, now only offered with a hybrid powertrain as Ford works to electrify more of its line-up.
It’s worth noting Ford isn’t the only brand that has been reducing its diesel offerings in its range, with brands such as Renault, Seat and Volvo all severely reducing the choice of models powered by the fuel as demand for the oil-burning engines reduces.
Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) show that diesels made up just 9.6 per cent of new car registrations in November 2021. That’s broadly the same as the number of plug-in hybrids sold, while sales of all-electric cars were almost double that of diesels.
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