Vauxhall axes diesel Astra as demand falls
The Vauxhall Astra's powertrain selection now comprises petrol engines and plug-in hybrids
The only remaining Vauxhall with a diesel engine is the Astra’s bigger sibling, the Grandland crossover
The Vauxhall Astra is no longer available with a diesel engine due to reduced demand for the fuel in the UK, the brand has confirmed.
In a statement supplied to Autocar, Vauxhall said: “Vauxhall is moving to being an electric-only brand by 2028 and has already streamlined its powertrain offering to focus on electrified variants. Diesel represented 6% of the C-hatch market in 2022. Astra and Astra Sports Tourer remain available in petrol, plug-in hybrid and will shortly launch a fully electric variant.”
Existing orders for the diesel Astra will still be fulfilled.
The change to the Astra line-up means that the only C-segment family hatchbacks that can still be ordered with a diesel engine are the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, Fiat Tipo, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Golf.
It also means that Vauxhall’s only passenger car available with a diesel engine is the Grandland crossover, which was last year facelifted with the brand’s ‘Vizor’ styling signature.
Following the news, Vauxhall announced it has updated the Astra’s range of trim levels, adding a new Ultimate specification to the estate-bodied Sports Tourer model. Starting from £33,765, it adds adaptive LED headlights, lane keeping assistance with blindspot monitoring, heated Alcantara-trimmed front seats and a powered tailgate, among other features.
It receives the new Intelli-Drive 2.0 suite of driver assistance technologies, which include intelligent speed adaptation (monitoring road signs to automatically adjust speed) and semi-automated lane changes (between 45mph and 70mph). The new ADAS package has also been added to the GSe and the Ultimate hatchback models.
Vauxhall is set to add an electric powertrain to the Astra line-up in the coming months, powered by a 153bhp AC synchronous motor. Its 54kWh battery pack yields a WLTP range of 258 miles and can be recharged at up to 100kW (DC), going from 20-80% in 30 minutes.