Diesel car sales have been overtaken by drivers looking to go electric with hybrid vehicles

SALES of diesel cars have crashed as drivers increasingly look to go electric.

They slumped 21.3 per cent last month compared with August 2016.

And the year to date sales are down 11.5 per cent as pollution fears grow, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Meanwhile, demand for petrol hybrid and electric battery-powered vehicles jumped in August, up 74.9 per cent and 62.5 per cent respectively.

Simon Benson, director of motoring services at AA Cars, said: “The huge drop in diesel cars could be an early response to the plans to ban the sale of all diesel and petrol cars by 2040.”

The SMMT figures show the new motors market suffered its fifth consecutive month of decline in August. Registrations were 6.4 per cent down on the record August of 2016.

Sales of conventional petrol cars grew by just 3.8 per cent.

However, with more than 76,000 new vehicles registered, it still represented the third biggest August in a decade.

Demand for alternatively fuelled motors was up 58.3 per cent. They now account for more than one in 20 of new cars sold in Britain, up from fewer than one in 30 last year.

SMMT chief Mike Hawes said: “With the new 67-plate now available, we anticipate the continuation of what are historically high levels of demand.”