22:22 13-01-2026

Why diesel is disappearing in Europe — and what happens by 2030

Diesel is rapidly losing ground in Europe. Research by New AutoMotive forecasts that by 2030 many petrol stations will stop selling diesel altogether, as storing it no longer pays and demand keeps collapsing. In practice, diesel will fade from the infrastructure long before the official 2035 ban on combustion engines.

Why diesel is disappearing

Sales of new diesel cars have plunged to record lows. In the UK, 2025 saw just 103.9 thousand diesel registrations—only 5% of the market. For comparison, in 2015 diesel held almost 49%, when more than 1.28 million such cars were sold in a year.

With demand drying up, keeping diesel tanks on the forecourt stops making sense: the fuel moves slowly, deteriorates when stored too long, and the same square meters are worth more as rapid charging bays or extra shop space.

The point of no return in 2030

New AutoMotive estimates that up to 8,400 British petrol stations will drop diesel by 2035, with a large share exiting as early as 2030. In cities, drivers could find themselves with virtually nowhere to refuel a diesel car.

Fleet statistics reinforce the picture:

• diesel share — 32% (11.6 million cars),
• petrol — 21 million,
• electric vehicles — already 3.7% (1.33 million),
• hybrids — about 6%.

Spain shows a similar pattern: diesel sales are down by roughly 35% year on year, and market share is just 5%.

What it means for drivers and the transport industry

Removing diesel from the pump network will nudge buyers toward EVs and hybrids faster: when refueling becomes hard and costly, switching technology looks simpler.

The impact will be sharpest for commercial transport—trucks and vans where diesel still dominates. Even there, the lack of convenient refueling points will be hard to ignore.

Diesel is leaving the road not so much because of politics as because the economics no longer add up. Shrinking demand and changing technology mean diesel infrastructure will vanish well before 2035. By the start of the next decade, entire European cities could be effectively diesel-free, and the shift to electric mobility will accelerate under its own momentum.