VOLVO this week revealed their final diesel model has just been produced.

The company’s plant in Ghent, Belgium, made its final diesel offering – a V60 – in February, and an XC90 diesel ended Volvo’s connection with the fuel when it came off the line in Torslanda, Sweden.

Volvo last year announced the intention to drop diesels and produce only pure-electric cars by 2040.

The company’s first diesel was introduced in 1979.

Sweden and Europe had not had a demand for such models other than from taxi operators and others covering high annual mileages, but the company recognised a growing desire among customers for the superior economy offered.

The result was the 244 GL D6, the world’s first passenger car with a six-cylinder diesel engine.

Other Volvo diesel milestones included the introduction of the V60 D6 plug-in hybrid in 2012.

It was the world’s first plug-in hybrid with a diesel engine, and the most technically advanced model from Volvo at the time.

In 2019, the majority of Volvos sold in Europe were diesels, but the market was showing a growing interest in hybrid petrol cars and pure-electric models.

Electrified models now account for the bulk of Volvo sales on the continent. Volvo last year recorded a 70 per cent increase in sales of pure-electric models in Europe.