According to a recent survey by Paragon Motor Finance, car buyers in the UK are more concerned with diesel vehicles than they are with Brexit.

The fact that the UK government is pushing to eliminate diesel cars by the year 2040 has greatly impacted consumer confidence. Statistically, every UK broker surveyed by Paragon blamed uncertainty over what fuel type to buy as the main reason why car buyers are on the fence.

By comparison, only 64% of brokers surveyed blamed concerns over Brexit.

Based on the latest SMMT figures for May 2018, diesel registrations for new cars in the UK dropped considerably by 23.6% compared to the same period last year.

“What we need as an industry is clarity. Diesel cars have been demonised but the infrastructure currently doesn’t support alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs),” said Paragon exec, Julian Rance. “The diesel used car market is still strong and that says that consumers still want to buy them, possibly because there is not a viable alternative.”

“We are looking at four or five car changes before we get to 2040, but there needs to be proper guidance from the Government on how it will work, what AFV rates will be going forward and a timetable of events because the uncertainty is causing confusion and negative demand.”

Things aren’t likely to improve this year in the new car market, with only 34% of brokers expecting any sort of growth. Meanwhile, 46% of brokers surveyed expect more applications for used car finance in the following 6 months.