Irish people buy the most new diesel cars in the world. Car sales data shows diesel cars account for 7 out of 10 of all new cars sold in Ireland.
“Globally, Europe is a diesel island. In the US and Japan diesel cars account for less than 5% of new sales. Europe, where diesel makes up 50% of new sales, is an outlier, and Ireland is way out on a limb with diesel accounting for 70% of new sales”, according to James Nix of Green Budget Europe, pointing to a comparison with other European countries, and adding that “Ireland needs to get back on track, shifting car sales away from diesel and on to electric vehicles and hybrids”.