Diesel cars have never been very popular in America. Although they’ve been around since the 1930s, diesel combustion engines only gained a foothold in the ’70s as a result of the 1973 oil embargo. That foothold didn’t last long, though; from the late ’70s to the mid-1980s, their market share rose from one to six percent and fell sharply back to one again by the mid ’80s. However, a few automakers persisted with diesel models past this period, and some of the most affordable SUVs and trucks on the market today are powered by diesel.

Unfortunately, while diesel vehicles have advantages over their gas counterparts in fuel economy and longer-lasting engines, it’s safe to say they won’t be making a comeback in the market any time soon. The 2015 Dieselgate emissions scandal effectively began a full phasing out — and not just in America, either. In Europe, where diesel cars are far more common, the European Commission plans for 90% of new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035.

That restriction has meaningful ramifications for most automakers, but not all. Some manufacturers never got on the diesel train at all, instead powering their models solely with gas, the more modern electricity, or a hybrid of both. As one would expect, most of these automakers are relatively new entries to the market, but a few have been around for long enough to be surprise additions.

It’s no surprise that Tesla’s history is entirely diesel-agnostic. It was founded back in 2003 with the vision of producing a fully electric vehicle. While it’s currently the most valuable automobile company by market cap (around $1.5 trillions) by quite some distance — the closest competitor is Toyota, at $314 billions — things weren’t always smooth-sailing.

In fact, Tesla almost went bankrupt shortly after Musk’s takeover as CEO in October 2008, and its Roadster launch wasn’t terribly popular either. It wasn’t until the Model S and its charging stations — Superchargers — hit the roads in 2012 that Tesla’s fortunes turned around significantly, posting its first quarterly profit in 2013 and selling 22,477 units in the same year. It was around this time that the automaker made charging free for its models, and it remains one of the few brands to still offer free charging in 2026, albeit under different promotional conditions.

The Model X joined Tesla’s ranks in 2015, but the real gamechangers were the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV. Those launched in 2017 and 2019, respectively. In terms of efficiency, the Model S is one of the longest-range EVs in the world, reaching up to 410 miles, per EPA estimates. Performance isn’t an issue either: The 2026 Model X Plaid can deliver 1,020 ponies, which translates to a 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds.

Lucid is a relatively new player in the automobile market, as it only started producing cars in 2021, with the Lucid Air as its flagship vehicle. However, it’s been around since 2007. Formerly known as Atieva, it initially developed batteries and engines for consumer-facing EV manufacturers and Formula E teams before pivoting to independent craftsmanship.

Like Tesla, diesel-powered cars have never been part of the picture, and most likely never will. The omission isn’t missed much either: A Lucid Air Grand Touring can give you an EPA-estimated range of 516 miles, which is over 100 more than a Model S — although the exact figures you’ll get in practice depend on weather conditions and other factors. In fact, the Air Grand Touring set a new Guinness World Record last year for the longest drive on a single charge by an electric vehicle, covering 749 miles going from St. Moritz, Switzerland to and Munich, Germany.

Lucid models don’t lack speed, either. The Gravity Dream Edition tops our list of family SUVs with serious firepower, reaching a mark of 1,070 hp on its highest trim. The publicly available Grand Touring model holds its own in that department as well, registering 838 hp.

Rivian, is a relatively new entrant into the automobile industry, at least in terms of production. Founded in 2009 and based in South Carolina, Rivian sought to build a battery-powered sports car to follow in the footsteps of the Tesla Roadster. However, that dream only lasted just over two years before CEO R.J. Scaringe, decided to pivot to the pickup truck market. Rivian had its first auto show in 2018, and after receiving backing from Amazon and Ford, it went public in 2021, valued at $12 billion. It only started delivering units of its R1T later that year.

When it comes to power, the R1T has few rivals. Rivian offers four motor configurations for the 2026 R1T: The base dual makes 533 hp, the performance dual and the tri-motor provide 665 and 850 hp respectively, and the quad-motor reaches up to 1,025 hp. That translates to a maximum tow capacity of 11,000 lb — outside the full-size truck category, not many vehicles reach that mark. As one would expect, though, you’d get far less range out of the battery pack under that kind of strain. For more context, we have a full review of the 2025 Rivian R1T Tri-Motor.

Its offerings have expanded beyond the R1T, though. The R1S and R2 provide competition in the SUV class, and Rivian plans to roll out the R3 in the 2029 model year to capture some of the entry-level market.

This one’s a bit surprising because Acura has been in business since 1986. Although its launch coincided with the end of the diesel powertrain hype of the mid-1980s, one would think Acura had been around long enough to launch a diesel-powered car in Europe or Asia, if not in North America. The conspicuous absence from its long list of models is not for want of trying, though.

Honda had planned to sell diesel cars under the Acura umbrella to American customers via the 2009 Acura TSX. In essence, the point of the 2009 TSX was to measure consumer acceptance of a diesel powertrain ahead of a formal Honda launch. At the time, diesel engines were thought to contribute less carbon dioxide pollution than gas powertrains, so the main hurdle in Honda’s eyes was solving the slew of mechanical issues that were peculiar to the diesel configuration.

Unfortunately, those plans never materialized. The reason for the pivot was said to be economical, in light of plummeting car sales and rising diesel prices at the time. However, emissions testing is likely to have played an instrumental role in Acura’s decision to can the model, and the brand has never revisited the idea. Honda appears to be taking a gas-centric stance in the market till today, as the automaker canceled its first EV, the ZDX, after just one model year in September 2025. The RSX and 0-series EVs joined the ZDX earlier this year, in March, with Honda citing unfavorable EV market conditions.

When you think of lightweight sports cars, chances are models like the Toyota Supra, GR86, or Mazda’s MX-5 Miata come to mind. Much of their appeal is in their price tag; They’re relatively cheap, so drivers get performance on a budget. Among these options, a few diesel-powered models also stand out, like the Audi TT 2.0 TDI. Lotus is one of the forefront brands in this category, but it’s been making cars since 1952 and not a single model has run on diesel. In fact, the manufacturer explicitly warns that a Lotus vehicle will not run on diesel in its fuel compatibility segment.

Recently, Lotus has been modernizing. The latest version of the Emira 420 Sport, for example, is 55 pounds lighter than the standard Emira if you opt for the Lightweight Handling Pack, and it adds an extra 55 pounds of downforce to boot. Powered by an AMG-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, the powertrain makes 414 hp, it does the 0-60 mph dash in 3.9 seconds and tops out at 186 mph.

The main challenge with Lotus models is their exclusivity; The automaker doesn’t produce a lot of units — last year, its production capacity got upgraded to around 5,000 units yearly. With that scarcity in mind, it’s no wonder Lotus cars can get pretty expensive. The top line Emira, for instance, will set you back around $142,000.

Like most other brands on this list, Polestar is a purely electric-focused manufacturer. It’s been in business since 1996, although it had a very different focus at the start. Formerly known as Flash Engineering, it was originally concerned with performance tuning; It raced Volvo cars in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. That relationship later evolved into an official performance partnership that birthed models like the 2013 Volvo S60 Polestar sedan.

Geely acquired Volvo in 2015, and by 2017, Polestar became a standalone electric performance brand, launching the Polestar 1 model that same year. The Polestar 1 was a limited-edition hybrid with only 1,500 units produced, and was discontinued in 2021 as the automaker pivoted into fully electric vehicles. Since then, its lineup has evolved to accommodate more options, with four new models expected to hit the market over the next three years.

The first of these, the Polestar 5, hits delivery later this year: A four-door GT that can complete the 0-60 mph dash in 3.2 seconds with its Performance dual powertrain, and that gives drivers a reported range of 346 miles. The others include the Polestar 4 mid-size SUV, the Polestar 2 (the successor to the Polestar 1 sedan), and the Polestar 7, all of which launch between Q4 2026 and 2028. This comes off the back of the automaker’s best sales year yet in 2025, where it sold just over 60 thousand units worldwide.

Chinese automakers have never been as popular globally as they are right now, and BYD is a leading brand in the wave of interest. Three of the top 10 car brands by sales volume for 2025 — BYD, SAIC, and Geely — were Chinese. BYD, an acronym for the “Build Your Dreams” motto, placed sixth on the list, beating competitors such as Ford and Honda with its 4.6 million units delivered. In terms of growth percentages, SAIC and Geely actually outstripped BYD, posting 12.3 percent and 26 percent increases in sales on the year.

With these figures, one could ask why there’s such a surge in consumer interest. The main factor is likely cost: While the average price of a new car is higher than ever in America (over $50,000), a BYD Seagull, for instance, has a base price of around $7,800. Of course, this price is only a direct currency conversion and doesn’t account for tariffs, but it should still be significantly less expensive than any of the top brands in the United States.

Founded in 1994, BYD focuses on renewable energy, electronics, and rail transit. Logically, all of its cars reaching markets in Europe and Africa are EVs, and there’s no reason to expect a change in perspective to accommodate diesel powertrains. BYD’s models are powered by a Blade Battery, which it claims gives the BYD HAN a range of 372 miles with plans to expand that to 497 miles in the future — a mark that will outstrip the current longest-range SUV you can buy in 2026, if it materializes.

Rolls-Royce is one of the most recognizable luxury brands in the world, and it has been in business since 1906. For a car brand that stretches so far back in the fabric of history, it’s surprising that the British automaker has never once powered one of its many models with a diesel engine — especially since diesel was always more popular in Europe than in America. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t experimented with the idea, though.

It may not be common knowledge that Rolls-Royce makes aircraft engines. In the same spirit of diversification, it designed a diesel rotary engine between the 1960s and the ’70s for its military division. The configuration for this Wenkel rotary powertrain is a little curious: It features two rotors atop one another in a weird, conjoined way, not in the coaxial design that we’re used to. Rolls-Royce has also made diesel engines for crawler tractors, lorries, and fire engines, but somehow never for a car.

The manufacturer also recently went green, with the all-electric Spectre launching in 2023. This is in spite of stepping back from EVs in 2012, when the 102EX concept was scrapped due to a lack of consumer interest. Given that consumers aren’t particularly interested in diesel cars, we don’t see that status changing any time soon.

Not many supercars run on diesel, so it’s not too surprising to see that Ferrari is another entirely diesel-agnostic car brand. In fact, back in 2008, Amedeo Felisa, the then-chief executive, explicitly stated that diesel wasn’t in their strategic plan. The proclamation came at a time when Lamborghini and Audi were considering using diesel powertrains to lower their emissions. Only Audi actualized their plan to launch diesel-powered cars in 2009, but by 2018, it had discontinued such models as consumer interest waned in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal.

However, Ferrari’s stance softened a little through a 2013 partnership with Maserati, when it developed a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel for the Maserati Ghibli. That seems to be the limit of its friendliness towards diesel, especially as it pushes towards electric adoption via the Luce, which is set to launch in 2027. Even that road appears to be rather rocky. Ferrari doesn’t operate like regular carmakers, but uses waitlists to determine who can buy its opulent supercars. According to Bloomberg, which cites unnamed sources, Ferrari is leveraging its allocation systems to nudge buyers to buy the Luce to improve their chances of acquiring more exclusive vehicles in the future. However, the publication also notes that this is not the first time Ferrari uses this kind of tactic.

That’s still going to be a steep hill to climb; The Ferrari Luce is tipped to cost around $640,000, and from an aesthetic standpoint, looks nothing like any other Ferrari model.

Aston Martin follows the Rolls-Royce trend in that it’s been around for more than a century, and it hasn’t dabbled in a diesel powertrain for commercial driver use. That’s doubly surprising considering Aston Martin was competing on the Le Mans circuit with Audi and Peugeot in 2010, around the same time those two switched to diesel and were dominating. Eight years later, chief creative officer Marek Reichmann reiterated that stance in no uncertain terms.

That’s where Aston Martin differs demonstrably from Rolls-Royce: Where Rolls has developed multiple diesel engines for different applications but never built a car around one, Aston Martin is entirely diesel-agnostic. The brand is trying to catch up to the EV trend, as one has been in the works since 2023 and was initially slated for a release this year, along with replacements for the DB11, Vantage, and DBS, to name a few.

However, the first delay on the EV’s timetable came in 2024, and it was further delayed in February last year to a less definitive timeline. According to Aston Martin, the EV should arrive sometime in the next five years, by 2030. It remains to be seen whether this target is achievable, although the automaker claims it plans to offer an array of gas, hybrid, and EVs well into the 2030s. Again, diesel is markedly absent from these plans.