In Germany, threats by politicians to ban diesel cars from cities have scared off customers, and sales of new models plunged 14% in August from a year ago, Germany’s federal motor vehicle agency said. As sales of diesel-powered cars take a dive in Europe, the continent’s car makers, heavily invested in the technology, are scrambling to offset the shortfall. Electric cars, often seen as the future of the industry, aren’t the solution—at least not yet. European auto manufacturers polled by The Wall Street Journal said demand for electric vehicles remained too small for them to replace diesel cars anytime soon. While all the companies are investing in electric mobility, their immediate focus is on building more gasoline-powered cars and making diesel engines cleaner. Since Volkswagen AG , the world’s biggest auto maker by sales, was caught rigging diesel engines to dupe emissions tests two years ago, sales of diesel […]