Photo: Volkswagen
You don't need to be too old to remember the times when diesel cars were the undisputed kings in Europe. The market on the Old Continent could get enough of the oil burners, and it looked like it would take a cataclysmic event to bring that to a halt.
"Hold my beer", said Volkswagen in 2015, and the Dieselgate scandal broke out. It took several years and several billion in compensation for VW to put that behind it, but the company also had to show a convincing strategy for how it plans to reduce its reliance on the now tarnished diesel engine. Unsurprisingly, that included a strong push for electric and electrified vehicles, and five years on, we're only just beginning to see the first results of this new orientation in the shape of the ID.3.
JATO (an independend automotive research company) just published the sales figures for September in the European market, and we're looking at a biblical earthquake. For the first time in the recorded history of the automotive industry, the number of electrified vehicles registered during last month (BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs) was greater than the number of registrations for diesel cars.
We're talking about a very narrow margin, but even if it were just one car, it would have still been absolutely massive. Before we go into more detail, here's some perspective: ten years ago, diesels accounted for 50 percent of registrations, while EVs had a market share of under one percent. This September, we're looking at 24.8% for diesel vehicles and nearly half that (12%) for pure electric vehicles across Europe. Add the PHEVs and HEVs and you get a total market share for electrified vehicles of 25%.
According to the figures provided by JATO, Volkswagen Group is the leader in the BEV segment, followed by Tesla. The Volkswagen brand registered a growth of 352%, a lot of that thanks to the release of the ID.3 model. The leading BEV model was the Tesla Model 3 with 15,702 units sold across the continent, followed by the sub-compact model Zoe from Renault with 11,023. Despite the encouraging start, the ID.3 failed to hit five digits with just 7,897 units delivered.
Segment-wise, SUVs are still leading by a hefty margin holding captive 41.3% of the market share, followed by sub-compact cars (19%) and compact cars (17.7%). All the others have one-digit figures.
There are multiple reasons why diesel cars are falling out of grace with European customers, and it's hard to say which plays a more important role than the other. On the one hand, you have the authorities who make it very clear that driving diesel passenger cars across major cities in the future won't be an option, if at all.
On the other hand, more and more people are starting to consider the environmental impact of their driving habits. Now the public knows that it's more to pollution than just carbon dioxide, diesel cars are finally exposed as a major source of nitrous oxides and other harmful particles.
Furthermore, the development of hybrid technology means that most of the advantages brought by a diesel engine can be obtained using a mix of electric and gasoline. Low-end torque? Check. High mileage? Check. Low CO2 emissions? Check. Guilt-free conscience? Check.
Finally, the price for EVs has been constantly dropping, and in some cases, buying one can be even more convenient than getting an equivalent diesel thanks to local subsidies. With competition ramping up and new technologies being developed, the only way to go for the price of battery-powered cars is down, though the actual rate might slow down a little.
So, what was once the cradle for diesel cars is turning into their coffin. Europe appears to be shunning them, and it doesn't look like there's any way back from here. Except, of course, Volkswagen manages to find itself caught up in an EVgate.
JATO (an independend automotive research company) just published the sales figures for September in the European market, and we're looking at a biblical earthquake. For the first time in the recorded history of the automotive industry, the number of electrified vehicles registered during last month (BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs) was greater than the number of registrations for diesel cars.
We're talking about a very narrow margin, but even if it were just one car, it would have still been absolutely massive. Before we go into more detail, here's some perspective: ten years ago, diesels accounted for 50 percent of registrations, while EVs had a market share of under one percent. This September, we're looking at 24.8% for diesel vehicles and nearly half that (12%) for pure electric vehicles across Europe. Add the PHEVs and HEVs and you get a total market share for electrified vehicles of 25%.
According to the figures provided by JATO, Volkswagen Group is the leader in the BEV segment, followed by Tesla. The Volkswagen brand registered a growth of 352%, a lot of that thanks to the release of the ID.3 model. The leading BEV model was the Tesla Model 3 with 15,702 units sold across the continent, followed by the sub-compact model Zoe from Renault with 11,023. Despite the encouraging start, the ID.3 failed to hit five digits with just 7,897 units delivered.
Segment-wise, SUVs are still leading by a hefty margin holding captive 41.3% of the market share, followed by sub-compact cars (19%) and compact cars (17.7%). All the others have one-digit figures.
There are multiple reasons why diesel cars are falling out of grace with European customers, and it's hard to say which plays a more important role than the other. On the one hand, you have the authorities who make it very clear that driving diesel passenger cars across major cities in the future won't be an option, if at all.
On the other hand, more and more people are starting to consider the environmental impact of their driving habits. Now the public knows that it's more to pollution than just carbon dioxide, diesel cars are finally exposed as a major source of nitrous oxides and other harmful particles.
Furthermore, the development of hybrid technology means that most of the advantages brought by a diesel engine can be obtained using a mix of electric and gasoline. Low-end torque? Check. High mileage? Check. Low CO2 emissions? Check. Guilt-free conscience? Check.
Finally, the price for EVs has been constantly dropping, and in some cases, buying one can be even more convenient than getting an equivalent diesel thanks to local subsidies. With competition ramping up and new technologies being developed, the only way to go for the price of battery-powered cars is down, though the actual rate might slow down a little.
So, what was once the cradle for diesel cars is turning into their coffin. Europe appears to be shunning them, and it doesn't look like there's any way back from here. Except, of course, Volkswagen manages to find itself caught up in an EVgate.
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