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More needs to be done to educate used-car buyers about the differences between 'good' and 'bad' diesels when it comes to emissions, the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) has claimed.
According to the body - which represents companies that remarket more than 1.5 million vehicles a year - misconceptions about the cleanliness of diesel are circulating among the mainstream media.
The VRA said some buyers are identifying diesel as "undesirable" and are starting to avoid vehicles powered by the fuel, with most switching to petrol models.
"As anyone working in the industry knows, this is a trend that makes little sense," said Glenn Sturley, chair of the VRA. "Newer diesels are some of the cleanest cars available, especially in real world terms, and stigmatising them could actually hamper general efforts to improve air quality."
He added that a "concerted effort" is needed to educate buyers on the improvements that have been made to diesel engines over the last few years.
Sturley said: "Roughly, the diesel car parc can be divided into Euro 3 and Euro 4, which no longer meet the kinds of emissions standards that are considered acceptable, and Euro 5 and Euro 6, which are some of the cleanest cars available in terms of CO2, NOx and particulates. Effectively, this means that the market divides into 'good' and 'bad' diesels and we believe that much more could and should be done to educate consumers on the difference between the two."
He concluded: "As a body, it strikes us that a good first step would be to fight for a better standard of coverage in the mainstream media. Some of the stories that have been published about diesel and air quality have been misleading, to say the least."
Louise Wallis, head of business development at the NFDA, added: "Diesel vehicles still remain a good choice of engine for many drivers as they were economical to drive, particularly on long journeys. New modern Euro 6 engines especially are clean and meet strict emission levels."
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