Diesel Nissans Unlikely In U.S, Plug-In Hybrid On The Way?

By Antony Ingram

Antony Ingram

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Antony is an automotive obsessive: Whether it drives, sits there looking pretty or intrigues from afar, he'll talk and write about it. Automotive... More

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2013 Nissan Altima

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Japanese automakers haven't embraced diesels in quite the same way as some other companies have done.

Even in Europe, where diesels are popular, the range is limited. That's perhaps not surprising, given the unique demands in the crowded cities of the Japanese home market--making cleaner gasoline engines and hybrids much more attractive.

The American market is suspicious of diesels too, which makes Nissan's reluctance to bring diesels to U.S. shores fairly unsurprising.

Instead, says Car and Driver, Nissan will work towards more electric cars, but more imminently, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

"In the U.S., diesel is very limited,” explains Pierre Loing, vice-president for product strategy and planning at Nissan. He cites fuel cost and availability as two main factors, as well as government regulations making diesel engines much more expensive to produce.

Hybrids will be the main focus, with an Altima hybrid arriving in due course, and others in the pipeline. "Plug-in hybrid technology is a promising path. Clearly we are working on it," said Loing.

In the meantime, Nissan, and Renault-Nissan president Carlos Ghosn, is still bullish about the Leaf. Nissan aims to sell 22,000 Leafs in the U.S. this year, around the same as it sold worldwide in 2011.

As the new Tennessee-based plant comes online at the end of 2012, the extra supply could see Leaf sales rise to as much as 60,000 in 2013, in the U.S. alone.

With rising electric car sales and a raft of new hybrids on the way, it seems the case for diesel engines in the Nissan range is looking a little weak.

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