Of 46.400 automobiles imported in Latvia in 2013, 37,300 had diesel engines,
according to data from the automobile advertisements portal Autoplius.lv, cites
LETA/Nozare.lv.
Autoplius.lv sales manager Andris Malnieks notes that the popularity of diesel automobiles has been growing steadily in Latvia for several years.
“In 2011, 74% of automobiles imported in Latvia were diesel automobiles, a year later the proportion increased to 78% and last year to 80.4%. At the moment, four in five automobiles in Latvia have diesel engines,” said Malnieks.
On the other hand, the number of diesel automobiles in Lithuania has been decreasing for several years in a row, whereas the demand for automobiles with gasoline engines has been rising. In Estonia, diesel automobiles account for about 77% of all automobiles.
As for new automobiles sold in Latvia, 61% had diesel engines last year.
“Increasingly more new automobiles sold in Latvia have diesel engines. The proportion is slightly higher in Lithuania, whereas in Estonia, automobiles with gasoline engines are more popular,” said Malnieks.
Automobiles that run on alternative fuels accounted for only 3% of all automobiles imported in Latvia last year. In 2013, 498 such automobiles were sold in Latvia, or 21 automobiles less than in 2012.
Source: The Baltic Course