January Western European Diesel Car Market Flat

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Western European diesel car sales were flat, according to the latest data just released by LMC Automotive.* Even though the data are incomplete with the Greek market lacking, LMC notes that 147,000 diesel cars were sold in the month, the same as a year earlier.

Moreover, a month over a month increase in diesel share is likely the result of government tax policies – particularly in Germany – “connected to a dramatic fall in the demand for BEVs in January, many being pulled forward into December 2022 in advance of incentive cuts in Germany,” LMC said. German diesel car sales at 53,000 is roughly the same as a year earlier.

The sole significant Year-over-Year drop in diesel sales in January was in France at 6600 fewer diesel cars  sold in January 2023 when compared to 2022. In other markets differences were small, although in Italy, clearly a non‐BEV market historically, diesel sales in January 2023 increased by 6300 units YoY.

*LMC Automotive – a GlobalData Company

LMC Automotive is a leading independent and exclusively automotive focused provider of global forecasting and market intelligence in the areas of vehicle sales, production, powertrains and electrification. The company’s global clients include car and truck makers, component manufacturers and suppliers, financial, logistics and government institutions. LMC Automotive is part of the LMC group, as is J.D. Power. LMC is also the world’s leading economic and business consultancy for the agribusiness sector.