Diesel engine's share narrows in EU auto market

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - While electric vehicles' share in the European automotive market sharply increased, diesel engines posted a significant drop in 2019, according to the European Automotive Manufacturer Association (ACEA) data on Thursday.

In the year, the number of new registrations of diesel-engined vehicles decreased by 13.9% to 4.65 million, while petrol-engined cars increased by 5.2% to reach 8.96 million units, the ACEA data showed.

During the year, over 465,000 new ECV -- hybrid and battery-powered -- were registered in the EU, up 53.5% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the total of alternatively-powered vehicles (APV) -- electric, LPG, LNG, ethanol, etc. -- was up by 42.9% to reach 1.6 million units in the last year, on an annual basis.

"Electrically-chargeable vehicles (ECV) were among the main drivers of this growth," the ACEA said.