European auto analyst sees diesel tidal wave growing, not slowing

Diesel Fuel News, March 3, 2003

Schmidt's Auto Industy Digest (www.eagleAID.com) devotes most of its latest issue to the huge growth of diesel cars in Europe. As a result, over half of Europe's car sales will be diesel by 2005. Even the "highly reluctant-to-change and deeply entrenched petrol [gasoline] markets such as Switzerland and Britain are now also following in the same footsteps," says editor Peter Schmidt.

Opel's big losses and market-share dive over the last six years are largely blamed upon its slowness-to-react to Europe's diesel love affair, while PSA's spectacular rise (sales up 55% in just five years) is the talk of Europe. PSA is the world's first producer of cars standard-equipped with diesel particulate filters (DPFs), employing the Rhodia cerium fuel-borne catalyst injection system for DPF soot regeneration aid.