A dive into December’s new car registration figures provides plenty of evidence for potential ongoing peril throughout 2018: registrations were down 13.9% overall, with diesels down 31%.
In that light, the prediction of an overall 5-7% fall in the next 12 months feels conservative.
Read more on 2017's new car registration figures here
The industry’s biggest hope for shallowing the downward curve obviously lies in persuading consumers that it is okay to buy a diesel again.
The facts are on the industry’s side: as stricter test regimes ramp up, the evidence is there for all to see, and our sister title What Car?’s latest True MPG figures is beginning to highlight a new generation of diesels that can compete with relatively new petrols for both CO2 and NOx emissions.
But are facts enough, after nine months of sustained negativity and misinformation? Many believe the dirty diesel moniker is here to stay, regardless of the (so-called, and still disputed) truth.
To swing the pendulum of public opinion back to a point of understanding the pros and cons of each fuel type - let alone favouring diesel again - will require another massive shift.
A sustained education programme from car makers is long overdue, but even then it is hard to see it succeeding unless policy makers too can be persuaded to speak and act on the facts, rather than whims.
Read more
Insight: Is it time to give up on the diesel engine?
Why the new diesel tax is a farce
Autumn Budget 2017: Diesel tax hike confirmed
Join the debate
Add your comment
Money money money...
I drive 35K a year on average with a daily commute of at least 120 miles. Electric is no good if I need to see a customer (until they get super fast charging stations everywhere). Hybrid is a good alternative but those cars are not cheap to buy, even on the second hand market. I typically buy low milage diesel £5k cars, run them for a couple of years and then sell them with a minimal loss of around £1k a year in depreciation. I will run diesels until my wallet allows a cost effective alternative, sorry.
Extracting the urine
Add some pi** to it like they should have. A "big skank" is what diesel was they put the price of petrol up so people would be forced to drive around in diesel to get decent MPG for the extrotionate price per litre they were charging for petrol at the time, what did the magazines do? they just went along with the prevalent theory no investigation into diesel pollution no "advising" the government on the dangers of diesel and happy to recommend the vehicles for everyone whatever their circumstances. So I ask you what are the point of motoring magazines...advertising is the reason, never really looked at it like that in the past.
Not entirely true
405line
i remember reading about the EU first threatening to take the UK to court for poor air quality (from diesels) back in 2005, in Autocar.
Andrew Frankel has written about it several times since. It just takes too long for a government (in our 5 year electoral) system to stop listening to the lobbyists and get everyone in order to do something about it.
you could argue that without the VW scandal they still wouldn’t...
Isn't the internal combustion engine in general bowing out?
Appears somewhat academic which version of it - is worse, isn't it? If both emitt CO2 and NoX - and both particiapte in feeding that global greenhouse spiral. Sure power production is a bigger problem, lots bigger. But that doesn't mean - emissions from traffic don't matter.