Diesel sales dip after emissions scandal 'was just a blip'

7:30 am, March 31, 2016

DIESEL vehicles have bounced back from the emissions scandal, according to new figures.

Venson Automotive Solutions, which has its head office in Thames Ditton and sites in York, Welwyn Garden City and Nottingham, says that towards the end of last year 80 per cent of the vehicles it sent to market were diesel, proving that demand is still strong in the ex-fleet arena.

Strategic supply manager Gary Curran said: ‘We saw a brief impact at auction, when the emissions story broke, with a one to two per cent drop in prices for diesel vehicles, and models taking a few more days to sell.

‘However, by the following month, diesel was back in demand and this looks set to continue in 2016.

‘Typically, our ex-fleet diesel vehicles tend to hold their value because they are more desirable and we see a one per cent difference in values when comparing them with petrol. The diesel models are usually large, family-size vehicles, offering good specifications and additional accessories. In contrast, the petrol models tend to be either super-performance or, more often than not, smaller vehicles, which are more suited as a second car or for new drivers.

‘The diesel models we have tend to be larger coupes, estates or crossovers, making them ideal family vehicles, offering good value on the second-hand market. Because of these key selling points, they get snapped up at auction, on average four days faster than petrol models, proving that the dip after the emissions scandal was just a blip.’