High Quality Diesel Fuel FUELS Diesel Buying Boom in the UK

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September diesel passenger car sales in the United Kingdom shot up 24.4% from September 2001, to 99,601 units, according to new statistics from the U.K. Retail Motor Industry Federation.

The diesel sales increase came despite a 2% overall drop year-on-year in U.K. car sales for the month of September, the auto group said. Last month, 22.4% of the 432,661 new cars sold in the U.K. were diesels.

The increase is being seen as an environmental choice on the part of consumers, the group said. Supporting that claim is the fact that U.K. motorists are paying more at the pump for diesel fuel than gasoline.

"The diesel boom is continuing." "Modern diesels are quiet, economical and good for the environment, and the consumer seems to have embraced this."

Year-to-date (as of the end of September), diesel passenger car sales total 470,839 units - more than a 40% increase on 2001 sales through September, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, another U.K. auto industry group.

But while diesel sales are on the rise in the U.K. and other European countries, modern, clean diesels, especially in the U.S., are still held back by the perception that diesel vehicles are dirty polluters.

The auto industry needs to better communicate the benefits of clean-diesel technology (better fuel economy, lower carbon dioxide emissions) and work with the oil industry to address challenges regarding the widespread availability of high-quality diesel fuels especially in the US, according to Jean-Martin Folz, PSA Peugeot Citroen managing board chairman and president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Reducing the sulfur content of diesel fuel to ULSD is one issue refiners will need to address to advance the use of clean diesels in North America.

 
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