DIESEL sales accounted for more than a quarter of the entire car market during May, while demand for oil burners in the fleet market triggered renewed growth. Overall demand for heavy-oil cars was up 6.6%.

During May, the Ford Mondeo was the best-selling fleet diesel car, although demand was down 11% to 1,875. The Ford Focus was second with 1,710 sales, a year-on-year drop of 18.5%.

Volkswagen's Passat took third place, with 1,604 sales, while the Golf was fifth with 1,502 units sold, matching the two models' sales performances in May last year. They sandwiched the Vauxhall Astra in fourth on 1,513, a rise of 11%.

Ford was best-selling fleet diesel manufacturer in May, with 4,809 sales, followed by Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot and Renault.

For the year-to-date, the Mondeo is the best-selling fleet diesel car, followed by the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Passat and Golf and Vauxhall Vectra. Ford is also the best-selling fleet diesel manufacturer so far this year, with 25,388 sales, giving it a clear lead over Volkswagen. Vauxhall is third.