Diesel tax causes sales to crash by a third as Brits stop buying cars
New car sales have plunged for the eighth month in a row as British buyers steer clear of new diesels and turn to petrols amid tax panic
DIESEL motors sales crashed by a third last month as the new car market suffered another drop.
New car sales fell by ten per cent in November amid diesel tax confusion, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Brits instead turned to petrols, hybrids and plug-ins but it wasn't enough to stop the market recording its worst November since 2013.
New car sales have now fallen for eight months in a row.
Buyers are already shunning diesel over fears of tax hikes - despite rules not actually coming into force until April 2018.
Diesel accounted for just 37 per cent of new cars in November - down from a near 50-50 split with petrol 12 months ago.
The industry has hit out at Chancellor Philip Hammond and the government for its "anti-diesel message" that it claims will "discourage drivers from trading in their older, more polluting cars".
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: "An eighth month of decline in the new car market is a major concern, with falling business and consumer confidence exacerbated by ongoing anti-diesel messages from government.
"Penalising the latest, cleanest diesels is counterproductive and will have detrimental environmental and economic consequences."
So far in 2017, 2.3million cars have found new homes - down from 2.5million this time last year and well short of start of the year targets.
With December normally a slow month as families tighten purse strings for the festive season, the industry is unlikely to recover in 2017.
The Ford Fiesta remains the biggest selling model ahead of the VW Golf and Ford Focus.
But the decline in sales has been led by huge drop-offs in executive car sales - models that often have big, powerful diesels under the bonnet.
Rod Dennis, RAC spokesman, said: "The decline in new diesel sales however is stark - while the modest growth in petrol sales shows that some owners may be moving from diesel to petrol, it could also be evidence that diesel drivers are choosing to hold on to their current vehicles for longer when faced with uncertainty over future diesel taxes and charges.
"We believe drivers need to be offered more incentives to switch into alternatively-fuelled vehicles to encourage swifter uptake of the very cleanest vehicles available."