Popularity of diesel vehicles drops - study

Forty-one percent of German drivers say they plan on buying a new or used vehicle in the coming 18 months, according to a study conducted by fuel and petrol station brand Aral AG. This rate is the highest since the first such study in 2003. Most survey respondents plan to buy a petrol car (52 percent), while preference for diesel engines has dropped from 31 percent in 2015 to 18 percent today. The popularity of hybrids (15 percent) and all-electric cars (5 percent) has grown since the last survey in 2015. Only six percent of respondents plan to buy small cars (about a fourth of respondents in 2015), while the popularity of limousines (34 percent) and SUVs (15 percent) has grown significantly. Tesla is seen as the most environmentally-friendly carmaker, followed by Toyota and BMW. For the study, 1,003 participants were surveyed online in March 2017.

Find the study in German here.

Find background in the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.