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Diesel Sales in Europe to Dip Below 50%

Demand for diesel-powered cars in Europe will slip below 50% this year for the first time since 2009, predicts LMC Automotive.

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Demand for diesel-powered cars in Europe will slip below 50% this year for the first time since 2009, predicts LMC Automotive. The market analysis firm says this year’s 2.6-point drop will be the sharpest decline in nearly a decade.

Diesel's proportion of the western European car market has been shrinking about one point per year since 2011, when it peaked at nearly 56%, according to LMC. Market share fell below 46% in 2009 as several European countries introduced old-car scrappage incentives to revive car sales.

This year’s accelerated decline reflects Volkswagen AG’s diesel emission cheating scandal, the resulting uptick in regulatory review and growing opposition among cities to diesel-powered vehicles.

The EU promoted diesel power for years as an effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a so-called greenhouse gas. But the VW crisis has shifted regulatory focus to nitrogen oxides, a more severe pollutant associated with diesels.

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