Diesel may vanish from forecourts within four years
Diesel could begin disappearing from British forecourts within four years as falling demand prompts retailers to make space for electric vehicle chargers.
A report by the electric vehicle think tank New AutoMotive predicts that some filling stations in London will stop selling diesel by 2030. Nationally, many of the UK’s 8,400 forecourts are expected to scrap it by 2035.
The projections reflect the speed at which the diesel market is contracting. The volume of diesel sold in 2023 was 22 per cent lower than its peak in 2017.
The number of diesel vehicles on Britain’s roads is forecast to fall more steeply still. Within a decade, there could be as few as 250,000 diesel cars remaining, compared with 15.5 million recorded in June 2025.
Demand for new diesel cars has already largely evaporated. Only 5.1 per cent of new vehicles bought last year were diesel, compared with 23.4 per cent that were pure electric.
Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive, said falling volumes were pushing forecourts towards a commercial tipping point. “If fuel sits in tanks without selling at pace, it degrades,” he said. “As diesel availability tightens, many motorists will conclude the smartest option is to avoid the headache and go electric.”
London is expected to become the first UK city with no diesel cars, largely because of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone. Drivers of older diesel vehicles registered before September 2015 already face a £12.50 daily charge to drive anywhere in the capital.
The government said there was no evidence that forecourts would stop stocking diesel from 2030. Ministers pointed to £7.5 billion in support for the transition to electric vehicles and to the Electric Car Grant, which they said had helped almost 50,000 buyers save up to £3,750 on new electric vehicles. One in four cars sold are now electric.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said that where electric vehicle drivers once worried about access to charging points, diesel motorists may find themselves “anxiously seeking service stations where they can still fill up”.
Drivers of electric cars may find soon find themselves better catered for than those with diesels
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However, he warned against declaring diesel’s demise prematurely, noting that the van sector and haulage industry remained heavily dependent on it.
Although the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is due to be banned from 2030, existing vehicles will be unaffected.
Forecourts, however, are already adapting. The Petrol Retailers Association said only 57 per cent of its members expected fuel to remain their primary source of income in a decade as filling stations invest in high-powered chargers, larger shops and “first-class valeting”.
Delvin Lane, the chief executive of the charging firm InstaVolt, said the transition reflected technological change rather than compulsion. “For drivers, this is not about being pushed into electric,” he said. “It’s a rational choice.”