Demand in the UK for cars with diesel engines exploded in 2007, official figures show.
Diesel cars now total about 40 per cent of all UK car sales, up from just 10 per cent in 2000, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Diesel car sales surged 68,915 units, to a record 967,436 units in 2007, the SMMT added.
In 2000, the new car diesel market numbered just 303,925 units.
The growing demand for diesel models has been fuelled by their greater efficiency and better performance.
While diesel is currently more expensive to buy than petrol (108.6p per litre compared with 103.6p), diesel-powered engines are much more economical than their petrol equivalents.
Demand for diesel cars has also been boosted by government concerns about global warming.
In 2002, Tony Blair's Labour government changed the tax regime for company cars in order to help shift demand away from petrol towards diesel cars.
Looking ahead, the SMMT expects diesel car sales to improve further in 2008.
Some analysts even predict that diesels will outsell petrol cars in the UK by the end of the year.
The UK, however, is still trailing a number of other European countries when it comes to diesel power. In France, more than six in 10 new cars have diesel engines.
Popular diesel models in the UK include the Ford Focus, VW Passat, Peugeot 407, VW Golf, Vauxhall Astra, Ford Mondeo and Audi A4.
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