ACEA

Diesel market highly developed in Europe

Almost half (48%) of new cars in the EU are sold with a diesel engine. This strongly contrasts with less developed diesel markets elsewhere on the globe.

While the diesel engine may be more expensive to produce, the lower fuel consumption has been recognised for decades in commercial operations when one looks at purchasing and lifetime operating costs.

With diesel traditionally available in the EU at relatively low costs (due to a relatively low demand for diesel in domestic use, such as heating) compared to gasoline and with the improvement of the diesel engine for passenger cars (in terms of less noise, better driving comfort and performance – enhanced by the turbo and direct injection - and reduced pollution), diesel cars have become attractive to European buyers. They value the fuel-efficiency of diesel, the reliability of the engine and the higher torque.

Duties

In addition, duty payable on market fuels has long favoured diesel in many EU countries, linked mainly to the needs of the road transport sector. Most EU Member States apply lower duty rates to diesel than petrol and that is reflected in the price at the pump; hence higher diesel passenger cars sales in the past years. However, even in the UK where the pump price if diesel is higher the petrol, diesel car sales have also taken off. Today almost half of new cars in the EU are sold with a diesel engine.

In contrast, demand for diesel in the US has been higher for domestic purposes (heating) resulting in a lower price difference for diesel at the pump compared to gasoline, which in itself has long been at a much lower price level than in Europe. Also, and as a consequence, the infrastructure for diesel in the US is much less developed. In addition, diesel long suffered from a bad image in the US. This is rapidly changing now as recognition rises of the advantages of modern diesel engines.

Emission standards

In the late 1980’s-early 1990’s, when the EU began to enforce stricter emission standards, policy makers recognised that the diesel engine had an advantage over the petrol engine in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Emission standards gave some concessions to diesel technology to allow high-technology fuelling systems and new combustion processes and after-treatment systems to be developed in order to achieve both lower emissions (particularly of NOx and particulate emissions), while also retaining low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Now, the diesel engine is very clean in terms of all vehicle applications and it is very desirable to have in a passenger car. The European diesel industry continues to push for lower emissions and lower fuel consumption and CO2 and it is a world-leader.

last updated 06/09/2010

Go back