There are a few diesels at the Detroit motor show, only a few of them, and that is quite a shock for most Europeans, and particularly the French people where the engine designed by Rudolf Diesel engine has been leading for years. Many observers thought this would not last, but we have yet to see the first sign of a slowdown. Actually, diesel has been growing again in 2012. Nearly 3 new cars out of 4 sold in 2012 had a diesel engine in France, and there’s even more shocking news coming from UFIP, the French oilmen organization which monitors automotive fuels.

Sale of gasoline was down 6.5% last year in France, while diesel fuel was up 0.2%. 2012 was a pretty bad year for the French economy but gasoline suffered much more than diesel. And the last month of the year was really astonishing. Of all automotive fuels sold during that month, diesel fuel got an incredible 81.6% market share. With diesel cars making less than 60% of all cars registered (most old cars use gas), it just means that the people who drive a diesel car drive much more than those driving a gas car.