DISASTER FOR DIESEL SALES

More than 400,000 fewer new diesel cars have been sold in the past 15 months – leaving industry chiefs fuming.

Diesel sales crashed 28% last month to under 74,400, trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed.

The number of diesels sold since the start of 2018 alone has slumped from 613,985 to 428,612, or by more than 400,000 in the past 15 months.

The rapid decline has been fuelled by fears over the threat of taxes and levies being slapped on diesels.

The SMMT blamed “continuing consumer uncertainty over future policy towards this technology”.

Diesel’s share of the new car market has tumbled from a peak of 50.8% in 2012 to 31.7% now.

Last month’s fall dented overall car sales, which dipped 3.5%, and offset a 12.3% jump in demand for petrol-powered cars.