CarDealer magazine has reported that UK motorists are consuming twice as much diesel as petrol.
Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that consumption of diesel has reached a record 24.6 million tonnes last year, compared with the 12 million tonnes of petrol that is being used.
Despite the sales of new diesel models since the Volkswagen emissions scandal in September 2015, Diesel usage grew four per cent in 2016, while petrol usage decreased by one per cent.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC, commented: “These figures reveal just how deeply diesel power has penetrated motoring in this country.
“Beyond the 12 million diesel cars, there’s also four million vans and half a million HGVs, the vast majority of which have diesel engines.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s going to take time to halt the diesel juggernaut and ‘green’ a fleet of this scale.
“Policymakers must bear in mind the significance to the economy of all the business and personal trips these vehicles make day in, day out, around the UK.”
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