Germany remains diesel country

The market share of newly registered cars fitted with diesel engines  in Germany may have dropped sharply because the technology’s reputation is seriously tarnished, but diesel fuel sales rose to a record high this year, report Max Hägler and Jan Schmidbauer in Süddeutsche Zeitung. According to a forecast from German oil industry association MWV, diesel fuel sales increased by two percent to 39 million tonnes this year. The authors say the rise is due to the rapid increase in freight transport, fuelled by Germany’s strong economic growth. They also argue that the drop in new diesel vehicle registrations has for now had little impact on the total number of diesel cars on German roads. Company fleet managers and small business owners who drive a lot show no sign of shifting to alternative technologies, according to the article. “Even in year three after dieselgate, Germany remains a diesel country”, the authors conclude.

Read the article in German here. 

For background, check out the factsheet "Dieselgate"- a timeline of Germany's car emissions fraud scandal.