Diesel engines used to be dismissed as too noisy and slow but their greater efficiency is attracting a record number of motorists, according to figures recently published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

By 2011 sales of diesel-powered cars in the UK will outstrip petrol-powered cars as millions more drivers seek to avoid the heavy tax penalties announced last week for fuel-inefficient vehicles. On the continent diesel outsells petrol already.

Diesel accounted for 40.2 per cent of the 2.4 million cars sold in Britain last year, compared with only 13.8 per cent in 1999. It has already overtaken petrol in terms of the total fuel consumed by all vehicles in Britain. Last year drivers bought 25.5 billion litres of diesel and 24 billion litres of petrol.

Despite costing 5p-10p a litre more at the pumps than petrol, diesel proves more economical for most drivers because it delivers 10-20 per cent more miles for the same fuel.

The showroom tax (new cars only) of up to £950 for the biggest gas guzzlers, which was announced in the 2008 Budget last week and comes into force in 2010, will encourage more drivers to switch to cars with lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The AA said that the popularity of diesels had leapt because drivers no longer had to accept lower performance. Paul Watters, the AA's head of roads policy, said that the victory of an Audi diesel at Le Mans in 2006, which prompted the race organisers to change the rules, had demonstrated the transformation of diesel technology.

The UK Petroleum Industry Association said that diesel was more expensive than petrol, despite having the same duty rate, because oil companies had failed to predict the rise in demand.

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