German diesel car sales down 19% last month

The country’s federal vehicle authority KBA has announced that sales of new diesel cars in Germany fell by around 19 per cent in April.

According to Reuters, the registrations of new cars in Europe’s largest auto market fell to 290,697 vehicles in April.

The report went on to detail that the sales of diesel cars plunged, with their share of the overall market shrinking to 41 per cent, while “sales of gasoline-powered cars were flat while electric vehicles posted strong gains from low base levels.”

In the UK, diesel car sales also saw a decline in April – falling 27.3 per cent to 68,306 cars.

The decline was much sharper than those witnessed by the petrol and electric car market.

It is believed that the decline is in response to the growing pressure on cities to ban diesel vehicles, many of which have begun to introduce a series of policies to deter people from opting for diesel cars.

In the UK, drivers of the most polluting diesel cars will receive compensation if they trade in their vehicles for newer, cleaner models as part of a diesel scrappage scheme to improve air quality. 

In the country’s capital, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the capital’s introduction of an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will now come into force in April 2019, instead of in September 2020.

Those in breach of the regulations will be liable to pay a daily charge of £12.50 in addition to the Congestion Charge and the Low Emission Zone requirements.

Furthermore, Barcelona in Spain will begin banning cars older than 20 years on weekdays in 2019, while the city of Stuttgart in Germany will impose bans on diesel vehicles during periods of high-pollution beginning in 2018.

Around 2,500 old vehicles have been already banned in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, in a bid to curb the high levels of air pollution in the city.

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