BMW has confirmed it has significantly reduced the number of diesel cars in its range, as a huge fall in demand in recent years looks set to spell the end for the Beemer repmobile.
Diesel-sipping saloons have for generations been the motor of choice for sales representatives to rack up high mileage up and down the UK, but BMW said it has already culled a number of oil burners from its line-up as fewer customers want diesel cars.
A spokesperson for the brand said its decision is ‘reflective of the evolving market’.
![End of the road for the BMW diesel repmobile? The German car giant has culled a number of diesel engines from its new car line-up due to the huge fall in demand for oil burners](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/15/68651533-11853345-image-m-20_1678722927431.jpg)
End of the road for the BMW diesel repmobile? The German car giant has culled a number of diesel engines from its new car line-up due to the huge fall in demand for oil burners
The news that BMW had pulled a number of diesel engines from its model range was revealed by Autocar.
It says some diesel variants of the 1 Series, 2 Series Coupe, 5 Series and X2 SUV have been removed, while the 4 Series no longer has a diesel option at all.
The most popular engine to be dropped is the 1 Series’ 116d, of which 1,326 were sold in Britain in 2021.
This is Money contacted BMW for comment, with a spokesperson telling us: ‘BMW continually monitor consumer demand across models to ensure we have a product offering that is relevant, and reflective, of our customer’s needs.
‘Changes to our line up reflect evolving market demands and by removing lower volume variants we ensure BMW offers variety for our customers whilst improving their order experience.’
The move reflects the huge drop in appetite for diesel cars in recent years, which in 2022 officially saw battery electric vehicles outsell oil burners for the first time on record.
![Some diesel option in the 1 Series, 2 Series Coupe, 5 Series (pictured) and X2 SUV have been removed from BMW showrooms](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/15/68651539-11853345-image-a-22_1678723048219.jpg)
Some diesel option in the 1 Series, 2 Series Coupe, 5 Series (pictured) and X2 SUV have been removed from BMW showrooms
![Registrations of diesel cars fell by a third last year as consumers continue to turn their back on the fuel type](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/15/68651535-11853345-image-m-18_1678722913711.jpg)
Registrations of diesel cars fell by a third last year as consumers continue to turn their back on the fuel type
Last year, just 155,324 diesel passenger cars were registered in Britain, down 234,526 in 2021, meaning a decline of a third (33.8 per cent).
In contrast, electric car sales grew 40 per cent year-on-year to 267,203 registrations, while diesel demand paled in comparison to petrols, with just over 900,000 motors entering the road in 2022 running on unleaded.
It also saw market share for diesel slip from around one in six new cars in 2021 to less than one in ten last year.
So far this year, fewer than 16,000 diesel-powered passenger cars have been bought, which is 19 per cent down on their sales performance in January and February 2022.
Before the Dieselgate scandal in 2015, diesels accounted for around 50 per cent of the UK’s then-booming new car market.
However, the fallout from the emission-cheating scandal, Government’s decision to sting diesels with higher Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), introduction of London’s ULEZ and other clean air zones across Britain, and the increased push to go electric has seen oil burners become far less popular.
Another huge nail in the coffin in recent months has been the sky-high cost of filling them up, with a litre of diesel costing around 20p-a-litre more than petrol as a result of Britain’s refusal to import the fuel from Russia and the cost rising dramatically since March 2022.
According to RAC Fuel Watch today, the average UK price of diesel over the weekend was 166.42 pence per litre, while petrol cost just 147.49p.