Land Rover to field diesel-hybrid Range Rover and Sport models in US

Land Rover is expected to introduce a new diesel hybrid powertrain for use on the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year, and while our report last week indicated that these models wouldn't be sold here, Edmunds is reporting otherwise.

The stricter Euro 6 emissions regulations will be closer to what is required from diesel engines here in the US, which means that automakers will no longer have to develop a US-specific engine. Furthermore, Edmunds also says that sales of diesel cars and SUVs grew by 24 percent from 2010 to 2012, so this increased popularity could also play a big role in these vehicles being offered here. For Land Rover, it would pair its 3.0-liter diesel V6 with a version of the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission that uses an integrated electric motor.