Despite sales of new diesel cars tumbling by more than 300,000 vehicles so far in 2018, demand for the fuel is still high in the leasing market.

That’s according to new research carried out by Vantage Leasing, which shows that enquiries for leasing of diesel cars is up by 13% compared with 2017, and that diesel engine-cars still remain the most popular for those leasing vehicles.

It believes the increasing popularity of leasing diesel models is because the lender or broker takes on ownership of the vehicle, so it is risk free for the customer, allowing them to select the best car for the job without worrying about the future.

“Diesels have proved extremely popular with drivers over the last decade or so, but given the concerns over their environmental performance, potential emission charges and falling residuals, sales of new diesels have fallen dramatically,” said James Buttrick from Vantage Leasing.

“However, as our latest research shows, many motorists are still keen to benefit from the performance of a diesel vehicle but are looking to leasing as a way of avoiding any falling residual prices.”

The increasing popularity of diesel leasing contrasts sharply with data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) which shows that year-to-date new car diesel sales slumped from 1,008,323 in 2017 to just 707,702 in 2018.

The depth of the decline is highlighted further in figures which show that the sale of new diesel cars collapsed from 42.2 per cent market share in 2017 to 31.8 per cent in 2018 year-to-date.

New figures from the SMMT released yesterday, showed that decline continuing, with a 16.7% fall in diesel new car registrations in November.

However, among the most popular diesel cars to lease are the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar E-PACE, according to Vantage Leasing.

Buttrick said: “We’re constantly adding new diesel models to our portfolio to keep up with demand. The surge in diesel popularity shows no sign of letting up as motorists still see the appeal of driving a diesel model, with cheaper running costs and greater torque, among many benefits.

“In fact, there’s no better time to lease based on the current economic uncertainty. The only knock on diesel is the potential for it to be worth nothing at the end of its lifecycle, however leasing takes that risk away.”