Vauxhall owner to restart sales of diesel cars in Britain

The owner of Vauxhall has resumed the sale of diesel cars in Britain as the company reels from a £19bn writedown from its shift into electric vehicles (EVs).

Stellantis confirmed it is bringing back previously discontinued diesel models in Europe and will sell existing ones for longer as part of a drive to focus on profits.

The move comes after the car giant – which also owns Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën and Jeep – cancelled the launch of new EVs and announced plans to bring back hybrids. Executives described it as a shift back towards the “real-world needs” of drivers.

Since the end of 2025, the car giant has quietly reintroduced diesel variants of vehicles such as the Peugeot 308, Opel Astra, Citroen Berlingo and the DS 4 across Europe, according to Reuters.

In the UK, this does not seem to have happened yet for most of the group’s brands.

However, a diesel version of the Peugeot 308 does appear to have gone back on sale in Britain since December, internet archives show.

The company’s website says the cars will be available again from “March 2026”.

Other vehicles, such as the Vauxhall Astra – the British version of the Opel Astra – are not listed as being available as a diesel in the UK yet, despite its European equivalent going back on sale.

Diesel cars accounted for around 5pc of new car sales in 2025, although this figure also included mild hybrids, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That is down from 20pc in 2020.

Asked about the change in strategy, a spokesman for Stellantis told Reuters: “We have decided to keep diesel engines in our product portfolio and – in some cases – to increase our powertrain offer.

“At Stellantis, we want to generate growth, that’s why we are focused on customer demand.”

It emerged just days after Stellantis announced a €22bn (£19bn) writedown as its boss claimed the company had lost sight of “real world” drivers in its shift to EVs.

Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’s chief executive, blamed the one-off charge on “poor execution” and “the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires”.

He also said the launches of some electric models would be cancelled and vowed to instead revive hybrid versions of best-selling cars such as the Fiat 500.

In the past year, carmakers including Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors have written $55bn (£40bn) off their balance sheets amid disappointing EV sales and government policy changes in the US and Europe.

Stellantis was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group in 2021, creating one of the world’s largest car companies with a large stable of well-known brands.

Since then, its market share in Europe has shrunk from 20pc to 14pc as the company has battled production delays, quality issues and growing competition from China.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]