“We are moving away from a one-fuel-fits-all situation to one where fleets are gaining knowledge about the suitability of different fuels for different applications,” Meridian managing director Phil Jerome said in December.Īdditionally, cap hpi sees petrol hybrid powertrains as an attractive compromise between petrol and diesel, giving high-mileage users more reasons to give up diesel. On the fleet side too, diesel does not hold the same sway. “There is likely to be a growing number of used car customers who definitely want to buy a petrol model and, against that trend, dealers need to ensure that the advantages of diesels are positively promoted,” Sturley said. The changing composition will, in turn, transmit to the used market, VRA chair Glenn Sturley recently said, affording used buyers more choice than they used to have. cap hpi expects manufacturers to “rationalise” their offerings, phasing diesel out from city cars to meet shifting customer preferences. The interplay between draconian regulation, demand for new diesel cars and residual values is strong, and the industry has two ways to hedge against a devaluation of existing stock: either it reduces its exposure by getting rid of the vehicle classes more liable to bans, as Sixt Leasing did, or it can try and prolong models’ lifespans through technologies that reduce emissions to authority-appeasing levels.īut as far as future stock goes, diesel’s appeal is simply not what it used to be. “They implement these strategies in a strong diesel market like Germany in order to maintain a dominant position,” he notes. Munoz sees this as a short-term reassurance strategy aimed at keeping a grip on the market share build over two decades.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen made the radical pledge of a “diesel ban guarantee” in Germany, promising to buy back vehicles up to one year old if they fall foul of cities’ restrictions, and trade them in for a compliant model. In the UK, short-term lease provider Meridian said it would introduce a petrol option for all its vehicles, to meet shifting customer preferences.