Despite dropping in market share since 2014, diesel still tops the Belgian fuel market, according to data published by the Belgian Oil Federation on Thursday.
While the market share of diesel has dropped by 8% between 2014 and 2019, it still remains Belgium's preferred source of vehicle fuel, with a 75% market share.
"The statistics for new car registrations show a shift from diesel cars to petrol cars in particular," the federation said. Trucks, then, are the reason for diesel's share to be so high.
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"With excise duties on diesel now in line with those on petrol, the tax advantage of diesel has been abolished since mid-2018," the federation gave as a reason for the drop. "The introduction of Low Emission Zones and some announcements banning diesel vehicles in those zones also explain the decline in diesel."
That said, "we must stop demonising diesel," said Belgian Oil Federation spokesperson Jean-Benoît Schrans. "New diesel cars on the market today produce emissions considerably below the new standards," he said.
"We're going toward low-carbon or zero-carbon fuels. In the long term, we'll have oil-free diesel," said Schrans, also stating that "diesel cars emit between 15 to 20% less CO2 than gasoline cars."
"The oil sector is often criticised for its conservatism," Schrans said, "but it follows the clean fuel movement. It's unrealistic to think that we're all going to go electric," he added, pointing out that a lot of electricity doesn't come from renewable sources yet.
The Brussels Times
