Diesel market share in Western Europe falls to 15%

author: FutureCar Staff    

The diesel share of new car sales in Western Europe experienced a slight decline in August. This can be attributed to the strong performance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Germany, which was driven by the removal of subsidies for company BEVs starting from September 1, 2023. As a result, there was a surge in BEV registrations in August, leading to a decrease in sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, including diesel. GlobalData suggests that if not for this trend, Germany's diesel car share in August would have been 4pp or 5pp higher than the actual figures.

According to provisional data, the diesel share for the region, including hybrids, was recorded at 15.0% in August, with a few smaller markets yet to report. In the year-to-date period of 2023, the diesel share stands at 16.5%, showing a slight decrease of 0.2pp compared to the July figures. In August alone, 120k diesel cars were sold, bringing the total sales for the first eight months of the year to 1.265 million units, which is nearly the same as the sales during the same period in 2022.

Although Germany and Italy have witnessed larger diesel markets in 2023 compared to 2022, France has experienced a significant decline in diesel sales, with nearly 50k units sold less in the year-to-date period. However, this decline is offset by the growth in diesel sales in Germany and Italy, with an increase of almost 40k units in both countries. The recovery from a weak sales base in 2022 is a contributing factor to this trend, but the overall diesel share continues to show a negative trajectory.

FutureCar Staff