Diesels in Belgium Lose Sales Lead to Gasoline Car After 20 Years

Gasoline-fueled cars are outselling diesels in Belgium for the first time since 1997, says industry trade group Febiac.

The association says gasoline engines accounted for 48.5% of the 322,000 cars sold in Belgium in the first six months of 2017. Diesels captured a 46.5% share.

In 2012, about 75% of new cars sold in Belgium were diesels, Reuters notes.

But the combination of bad publicity and rising prices caused by costlier pollution control systems have dampened demand for diesels. Last month diesel sales in Germany dropped 13% in a market that grew 2%, according to KBA, the country’s federal motor transport authority.