Petrol, diesel, hybrid, electric: fuel types offered by decade
Which share of new car generations was offered with petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric versions, by the decade production started. These are shares of models on offer in our catalog, not shares of sales.
Key findings
- Petrol was offered on 100% of 1920s car generations and on 56.3% in the 2020s.
- Diesel peaked in the 2000s, offered on 42.6% of generations, and fell to 15.8% in the 2020s.
- In the 2020s, 39.7% of generations have a hybrid version and 44.5% an electric one.
- These are shares of models on offer, not of sales.
Data table
| Decade | Generations | Petrol | Diesel | Hybrid | Electric | Other (LPG, CNG, hydrogen…) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 10 | 100.0% (10) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1930s | 13 | 100.0% (13) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1940s | 11 | 100.0% (11) | 9.1% (1) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1950s | 89 | 98.9% (88) | 3.4% (3) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1960s | 244 | 100.0% (244) | 2.0% (5) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1970s | 220 | 99.5% (219) | 9.5% (21) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1980s | 142 | 99.3% (141) | 29.6% (42) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1990s | 204 | 99.0% (202) | 34.8% (71) | 0.5% (1) | 1.0% (2) | 1.5% (3) |
| 2000s | 340 | 97.9% (333) | 42.6% (145) | 4.7% (16) | 2.1% (7) | 3.5% (12) |
| 2010s | 524 | 92.4% (484) | 40.8% (214) | 22.9% (120) | 8.2% (43) | 5.2% (27) |
| 2020s | 355 | 56.3% (200) | 15.8% (56) | 39.7% (141) | 44.5% (158) | 2.3% (8) |
Methodology
A generation counts for every fuel type it was offered with (from the generation record and its versions), so shares in one decade can add up to more than 100%. Share = generations with the fuel type ÷ generations of that decade with any known fuel type. Plug-in and mild hybrids count as hybrids.
Passenger cars only: trucks, buses and vans are excluded (the same rule as our rankings).
Decades with fewer than 8 generations are not shown; the table gives the number of generations behind every figure.
Values come from the 1CARS catalog. Part of the specifications are extracted from our articles and not yet checked by an editor; obvious outliers are excluded. Figures describe the cars in our catalog, not the whole market.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit “1CARS” and link to this page. License terms.