Government's attempts to kill off diesel backfire as official figures show there are MORE on UK roads today than ever before
- DfT stats show there were more diesels registered in the UK at the end of 2017 than any other year on record
- Some 12.4m diesels were on the road, up from 12.1m in 2016
- That's despite new surcharges introduced by ministers
- More drivers are deciding to keep their older cars than buy greener new ones
- Peterborough is the UK's capital for electric-car uptake, the DfT confirmed
The Government effort to drive diesel cars off UK roads with new taxes appears to have backfired so far, new data reveals.
There was a record number of diesels registered in the country at the end of 2017, statistics from the Department for Transport show.
The DfT's latest vehicle licensing data indicates there were almost 12.4million diesels being driven in Britain at the end of last year.
This is up from 12.1million at the end of 2016, as motorists decided to keep hold of their older, more polluting cars to avoid surcharges on new ones.
More diesels than ever before: New Government figures showed that a record 12.4m diesel cars were registered in the UK at the end of 2017
The figures also suggest the uptake of electric models isn't growing as fast ministers would like - and a greater percentage of residents in Peterborough own an ultra-low-emissions vehicle than those living in London.
The Government's assault on curtailing diesel use in the country has been almost unrelenting in the previous 12 months.
Last April, new Vehicle and Excise Duty changes made low carbon dioxide producing diesels more expensive to tax and surcharges for driving and parking diesels in Central London were introduced by the mayor and some councils.
