Despite the ongoing negative publicity surrounding Diesel engine cars, the reality is the aftermarket is continuing to grow for the following reasons.
Firstly, there are around 30* million cars on the road (*SMMT Ltd), of which over 12 million are diesel, the vast majority of these will be around for many years to come.
Secondly, the peak in diesel car registrations was in 2016 with 1.285m recorded (SMMT Ltd), these vehicles will require injector/pump service or replacement from 2021 onwards. This together with the 2015 registrations of 1.276m (SMMT Ltd) provides an aftermarket opportunity of over 2.5m diesel cars alone.
Thirdly, many people are now realising that a diesel car is still the best option for them, particularly if they are driving high mileage. All diesel cars since 2015 are Euro 6 compliant, that means they meet European emissions legislation and will be exempt from the London emission charges planned for 2019 and have lower CO2 emissions than petrol engines.
Clearly there are many reasons to be positive as we continue to increase our share of the 4 million LCV’s on the roads, the 500,000 trucks and 70,000 Passenger Service vehicles, all powered by diesel engines.
Nonetheless, we are not just sitting back expecting our share of this long-term market, we are actively moving into new channel strategy’s and to that end we have recently been awarded supply contracts with Delphi and Ford Motor Company. This helps us to increase our share of “the cake”.
We believe the diesel engine has a key role to play in the future well-being of the UK economy and we look forward to being the aftermarket leader in diesel engine vehicles for many years to come.
The Diesel Vehicle Market
26th March 2020