Vehicle funder Wheels4Sure has seen a 38% year-on-year drop in the number of enquires for diesel vehicles following the Volkswagen 'dieselgate' scandal and uncertainty regarding Government legislation.

Last year, the company, which provides leased vehicles to people with poor credit ratings, saw its fleet grow by 20% to include more than 1,000 vehicles, of which 98% are petrol driven.

In addition, a recent survey of 100 investors in Buy2LetCars (who fund the new vehicles offered by Wheels4Sure) 68% stated that they would rather fund petrol vehicles as opposed to diesel.

However, ex-Wheels4Sure diesel vehicles that have come to the end of their three-year cycle continue to deliver stronger than expected prices at disposal.

Reginald Larry-Cole, CEO and founder of Wheels4Sure and Buy2LetCars, said: “It’s not surprising to see a continued fall in the demand for diesel vehicles particularly in light of the publicity around emissions, introduction of Clean Air Zones and changes to government policy around the future taxation on diesel.

"We deal with 15 manufacturers and they are offering aggressive temptations for us to take them, but we haven’t because of our long-term preference for petrol."