UK Diesel Car Market To Face Significant Decline in 4 Years Amidst EV Legislation

The market share for diesel cars is predicted to drop to just three per cent in the next four years because of new regulations favoring zero-emission vehicles.

Industry analysts project a steep decline in the UK's diesel car market share, potentially dropping to three per cent within four years. Cox Automotive, specialising in car industry support, forecasts a halving of diesel car market share by 2028, from six per cent and 121,000 units in 2024.

Additionally, they anticipate a 12 per cent drop in petrol car market share due to increased sales of BEVs and hybrids, from 51 per cent and one million units sold last year.

Philip Nothard, an insight director at Cox Automotive, attributes the decline in petrol and diesel car sales to various factors, including government regulations. Specifically, the Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, implemented this year, requires manufacturers to sell a minimum percentage of zero-emission vehicles. Failure to meet this target could result in fines of up to £15,000 per non-EV car sold beyond the quota, with the threshold increasing annually.

In response to the ZEV mandate and declining interest in diesel cars among consumers, several automakers are opting to remove diesel engines from their vehicle offerings entirely. Nothard elaborates, "The market for diesel cars aged zero to four years has drastically declined since 2020, leaving buyers in this segment with dwindling choices."

For a while, diesel engines were mainly seen in commercial vehicles like vans and trucks. But when the EU pushed for lower CO2 emissions in the mid-1990s, the UK saw a surge in diesel car sales, peaking at nearly 1.3 million in 2016.

Now, incentives favour electric and hybrid vehicles, though these perks for company cars will phase out by April 2025. Starting then, Benefit-in-Kind tax rates for electric cars will gradually rise by 1 per cent annually, maxing out at 20 per cent from the current 2 per cent rate.

Even so, the ban on new diesel car sales won't take place until 2035, coinciding with the government's postponed regulation. Although used diesel cars will remain purchasable, all fresh vehicles must adopt zero-emissions technology from then on.

While it is time to implement a full zero-emission policy, you can make the most of our affordable used cars in Milton Keynes.

Source and Image: AutoExpress UK