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The shift, following revelations that most diesel cars emit more
pollutants on the road than laboratory tests suggested, saw
gasoline car sales rise by nearly 10 percent from the first half
of 2016, compared with an approximate 4 percent drop in diesel
car sales in the same period, the group said.
Sales of "alternative" vehicles - hybrid, electric, LPG
(liquefied petroleum gas) and natural gas-powered ones - also
rose by more than 35 percent to account for 5.2 percent of total
car sales.
The mayors of Paris and Athens have said they plan to ban
diesel-engine cars in city centers by 2025 in the wake of the
emissions scandal, while France is also making plans to reverse
favorable tax treatments for diesel. Some expect other European
governments to follow suit.
Even car manufacturing centers Stuttgart and Munich have mulled
diesel engine bans.
Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating emissions tests.
ACEA, however, cautioned the shift to gasoline engines could
make it tougher for Europe to meet CO2 reduction targets.
"Policy makers need to be aware that a sudden shift from diesel
technology to petrol will lead to an increase in CO2 emissions,"
ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert said.
(Additional reporting by Ron Bousso in London and Laurence Frost
in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Mark Potter)
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