This morning, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) announced UK sales figures for 2017, which showed that not only was the entire new car registrar only 5.7% down in the previous year but also the diesel car registrations also dropped 17 , 1%. Surely, it must prove that all recent negative rhetoric surrounding diesel cars has a damaging effect on the car industry.
Where did these negative things come from? Well, some of the misleading press reports about diesel problems since the 2015 'Dieselgate' scandal. Responsibility for the rest can easily be put on government doors and the absence of a clear message in its plans to tackle the problem of air pollution, and for bold confusing decisions to improve tax on new low-emission diesel cars - rather than older, more polluting ones - as announced in the autumn budget in November. And while there are new laws, you can not help but think that this will not be the last time the government has a tax-based excavation on diesel drivers.
The reason diesel has unfairly created in this way stems from one important point: both the press and the government have failed to distinguish between different types of diesel cars, wrapping all diesel engines with the same metaphorical brush. Yes, older diesels are bad for our air quality, but the answer is not to molest or punish all diesel cars, and certainly not the latest ones (which are widely reported as clean as equivalent petrol cars) that can contribute to solutions to pollution problems air. A better approach is pioneered by many automakers in recent months (without government help or contribution), in building a scrappage scheme that encourages and improves older diesel driver drivers to newer and less polluted ones.
The fact is that for many people, diesel is still the best option out there. Yes, gasoline cars are more cost-effective for middle mileage drivers, while city dwellers would be better off with hybrid long-haul passengers and low mileage could benefit tremendously from electric cars. However, if you are a high mileage driver who spends most of your time pounding along the highway, a diesel is still far from your best bet.
The problem is that while the government continues to manage policies on what appears to be a distorted view of facts, consumers will be discouraged away from diesel cars that may be appropriate for their best for fear of future tax penalties, and beats financial consequences that may also occur.
Source by : https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/features/opinion-stop-the-demonisation-of-diesel-for-the-good-of-the-car-buyer