Is the British motorist falling out of love with diesel cars?
Ever since news of the VW emissions scandal broke in 2015, the automotive industry has been waiting for a sign that British motorists are falling out of love with diesel cars.
The latest new car sales data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows a definite swing away from diesel in favour of more environmentally-friendly alternatives. While new car sales grew strongly overall in 2016, last month the number of new petrol cars sold overtook that of new diesel cars. The number of new alternatively-fuelled vehicles (AFVs) sold also increased; now representing four per cent of the market.
Despite falling in recent months, the number of new diesel cars sold in 2016 was up by 0.6% on the previous year. However, this growth trailed that of other key sectors of the market; indicating early signs of a change in consumer sentiment towards diesel cars.
Until recently, motorists seemed to be putting issues like practicality and affordability ahead of environmental concerns. The comparatively low price of diesel fuel may also have helped to keep the diesel car market buoyant in the first half of last year.
Meanwhile, the number of electric cars on Britain’s roads has been growing steadily – there are now about 40,000 compared to about 3,500 three years ago.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the VW emissions scandal
However, research has shown that motorists remain concerned about the lack of charging points and infrastructure. Some are also sceptical about the green credentials of electric cars because of the need to dispose of batteries and the environmental cost of manufacturing some green models, which has not been disclosed.
There are now signs however, that growing concern about regulatory changes and the potential impact of graduated parking charges is beginning to undermine consumer confidence in this area.
A paper published in 2015 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) named six English cities, which are expected to fail EU air quality standards by 2020, and suggested that they should consider restricting the access of certain types of vehicles. These cities are London, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton.
Sadiq Khan has also confirmed that London will introduce the UK’s first ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) by 2019 (a year sooner than originally planned); requiring cars and other vehicles to meet exhaust emissions standards or pay an additional daily charge. Against this backdrop of change, diesel cars are also becoming more expensive to make and costs could rise further in the future.
Rising costs and tightening environmental restrictions were always bound to start to filter through to the marketplace at some stage – it was just a question of when. The sector should now prepare for a further shift in demand across Europe.
In particular, UK-based component suppliers of specialist transmission systems and emissions control equipment for diesel cars may need to shift their focus to the production of similar or related technologies for AFVs or petrol cars. Taking this approach could mean that further growth in the sale of these vehicles could compensate for the dip in demand of diesel car components.