Diesel sales soar in Europe

Sales of diesel vehicles soared in Europe According to the “European Automotive News” report, Italy will at any time become the sixth country in Europe to sell more diesel cars than petrol cars. In September, the Italian-registered diesel sedan accounted for 52.4% of its total registration volume for the first time. So far, the Italian market's diesel vehicles accounted for 47.3%, and this year is expected to reach 49%. At present, the sales of diesel cars in France, Spain, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg exceed those of gasoline. Italy is only a precursor to the upcoming sweep of diesel vehicles in Europe. In the past four years, the sales of diesel vehicles in Western Europe have increased by 4 percentage points each year. The market share has soared from 24.8% in 1998 to 40.3% in 2002. According to prediction by Colin Kuchman, a Global Insight automotive analyst in London, UK, sales of diesel vehicles in Western Europe this year will reach 43.2%, reaching 45.9% in 2004, and will continue to maintain steady growth in the coming years.