Which countries are buying the most diesel in Europe in 2024?

Despite the bad reputation it now has, the diesel engine still attracted nearly 1.2 million new buyers in Europe over the first 11 months of 2024. Provided by the association of European automobile manufacturers ACEA, this number does not take into account utilities, for whom diesel remains the king fuel. On private vehicles, “fuel oil” continues to see its sales erode. They have fallen by a further 11.6% since the start of the year, including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom, or by 11.2% when limited to the 27 countries of the Union. European. But in Germany, the situation is very different. Diesel increased by 0.7% to reach 452,230 registrations. This represents more than a third of the distribution of the entire continent and a market share which still reaches 17.44%. Which helps to understand why this type of engine remains so present in the ranges of the Volkswagen group, BMW and Mercedes.

The new Volkswagen Tiguan has not given up on diesel, a fuel that is still quite important in Germany.© Volkswagen

Heavy fall in Italy and France

The second step on the podium is occupied by Italy. But the Boot is relegated far behind, with 201,459 sales, and diesel plummets by 21.6%. The fall is even heavier in France. Even if France ranks third with 113,377 registrations, diesel suffers a drop of 26.8%. Only Belgium, Greece and Malta are still doing much worse. The market share of “fuel oil” in the country of Voltaire is now limited to 7.39%, and it has been steadily decreasing for several years. Here too, this can help to understand certain choices made by Renault, Peugeot or Citroën, which today prefer to focus on hybrid cars. Especially since the situation is not much better in the fourth country by volume, Spain, or in the fifth, the United Kingdom.

The compact 308 and the Traveler minivan are the last two Peugeot passenger vehicles available in diesel in France.© Alex Krassovsky

Exclusive – But who still buys diesels in France?

Diesel progresses in the east

As in other areas, however, the situation is changing radically in Eastern Europe. Diesel increased by 4.9% in Poland, 5.8% in Croatia, 17.1% in Romania, the homeland of Dacia, and even 41.7% in Estonia. Even though we often talk about small markets, this clearly illustrates a certain trend. In the Czech Republic, stronghold of Skoda which still offers numerous TDI versions, notably on its best-seller Octavia, “fuel oil” is content with a reasonable drop of 1.7%. Here, the market share of this type of engine still reached 21.65% with 46,262 sales. This makes the country the sixth largest buyer of diesel-powered vehicles on the Old Continent… or even the fifth if we exclude the United Kingdom. But in addition to Germany, there is still another country in the “Western bloc” in which heavy fuel is growing. This is Ireland, which is following a very different trajectory from that of its close neighbor, the United Kingdom.