Diesel sales jump, we ask "how high"? (35 percent)

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:28:00 EST

It may come as a shock, but diesel cars are doing well outside of their traditional European home. The just-released Mazda CX-5 shows that diesels are selling beyond expectations in Japan, but the real story is that we might be seeing the start of a golden era for diesel-powered cars in the U.S. In fact, clean diesel sales were up 35 percent in the first quarter of 2012 over Q1 2011, a trend - and it is a trend, since diesel sales were up 27 percent in 2011 - that the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) says is due to higher fuel prices pushing people into the efficient oil-burners.

Allen Schaeffer, DTF's executive director, said in a statement that, "I expect clean diesel auto sales to increase further as several new diesel cars are introduced in the U.S. market in the next year."

Right now, it's pretty much all Jetta TDI, all the time.

Once those other vehicles arrive, we'll see how the market shakes out. Right now, it's pretty much all Jetta TDI, all the time. A while back, we spoke with Lars Ullrich, the director of marketing and business excellence, diesel systems North America, for Robert Bosch LLC. He told us that diesel Jettas made up 44 percent of all diesels sold in the U.S. last year, which makes the Jetta sort of the Prius of diesels in America. Last year, Volkswagen had 58 percent of all diesel sales in the U.S.

Does this mean the Jetta TDI is "the" diesel in the U.S.? Ullrich said it depends on how you look at the numbers. About 60 percent of all Audi A3s sold in the U.S. in 2011, for example, were diesel, but the A3 sells in smaller numbers overall than the Jetta. When you have diesels available in high-volume models, he said, you end up selling a lot of diesels.

Diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011.

What does the big picture look like? Overall, diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011. That may not sound like a lot, but compare it to the hybrid market share, which has gone from 2.7 to 2.4 to 2.1 percent over the last three years, Ullrich said. Today, there are 25 clean diesel models available in the U.S. By 2014, that number will double, he said, which gives us an indication of where the market is moving. Echoing Schaeffer, Bosch's prediction is that the U.S. will see diesels grab 10 percent of the market by 2015.

While increasingly popular, diesels are not perfect. There are issues like the $32-a-gallon urea liquid, for example, and a fossil fuel is a fossil fuel. But it's clear that Americans are considering diesel more than they used to. The question is what happens when the diesel Chevrolet Cruze and Jeep Grand Cherokee arrive? Or more of Mazda's Skyactiv-D models? And, further down the line, when we see more merging of electric and diesel powertrains, where the diesel - perhaps renewable diesel - is burned in an efficient generator to generate electricity. That's when things get even more exciting.

High gas prices are helping plug-in vehicles and hybrids do quite well in the U.S., too. The Diesel Technology Forum says hybrid sales increased 37.2 percent while plug-in electrics jumped 323 percent. Overall, vehicle sales were up 13.4 percent. For more number-crunching details, see our monthly green car sales charts for January, February and March of 2012. The DTF has compiled a list of all the diesel-powered vehicles available in the U.S. here.

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Oldest VW diesel found in California

John Neff — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:55:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Hatchback, Volkswagen

click above image for high-res gallery

Back in January when Volkswagen unveiled its new diesel Jetta TDI in Washington D.C., the German automaker began a campaign to find the oldest running diesel VW in the U.S. The search is over, with the eldest VW oil burner being a 1977 Rabbit owned by Clint Wilson in Tehachapi, California. The 1977 Rabbit was the first diesel passenger car sold in the U.S. by Volkswagen, and it appears that Wilson's is still in great shape, something VW no doubt hopes isn't lost on today's prospective diesel customers. The car's age was verified by Volkswagen of America and Family Volkswagen, a VW dealer in Bakersfield, CA. The search is still on for the VW diesel with the highest mileage, but in the meantime, VW has provided Wilson with a Touareg V10 TDI to drive for six months.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Gallery: 1977 VW Rabbit - Oldest VW diesel in the U.S.

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