Cleaner, greener diesels drive up the car sales figures

The figures for sales of cars and light commercial vehicles in Britain in 2003 show that diesel continues to enjoy a massive surge in popularity.

Nearly a third of all vehicles sold in the car and commercial sector in December were diesels.

Taking the year as a whole, diesels accounted for 27.3 per cent of sales, up from 23.5 per cent in 2002.

"Diesel volumes have more than doubled since 2000 and continue to provide the main emphasis to the market's growth," said the British vehicle registration office.

"Improved technology and the wider availability of more dynamic models, coupled with tax incentives, have helped diesel car volumes climb."

Bosch, the leading diesel technology supplier in Europe, has pioneered the introduction of sophisticated injection systems like Common Rail and the Unit Injector system favoured by Volkswagen, which are at the heart of the modern high pressure direct-injection diesel engine.

And the pace of new developments at Bosch means that diesel will meet vastly increased refinement and environmental goals over the next two to three years.

Sales of diesel cars and commercials in some countries in Europe are around 50 per cent of annual figures.

The diesel share in Britain by 2006-07 is forecast to be around 40 per cent of all new British-registered cars and light commercial vehicles.

A typical example is the recently announced third-generation Common Rail system with highly sophisticated electronic fuel injectors that reduce pollutant emissions within the engine by up to 20 per cent compared to current systems.

Bosch is also bringing similar benefits to the Unit Injector system, with a new variable injector nozzle that has shown reductions of between 25 per cent and 40 per cent in particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions.

Talking about the effects of these developments on the vehicle market, Derek Grant, director of diesel sales at Bosch UK, said:

"There is currently a lot of discussion about future power-trains, hybrids and fuel-cells.

"But so far it is the diesel vehicles that have provided all the answers in terms of reducing greenhouse gasses and improving driving pleasure.

"With the developments described here coming through, we confidently predict both increased diesel production and further growth in demand.

"It is quite realistic to expect half of all new car registrations in Europe to be diesels by 2008."