If you tried to find a diesel-powered car in the U.S. of A. you’d certainly have a hard time, as their total sales account for less than 3% of the total market. But the future may be different.
With gas prices constantly fluctuating and the government pushing manufacturers to improve efficiency, analysts predict that hybrids are not the only kind of vehicles that many buyers will turn to: diesel is another option.
Auto experts are not of a single mind when it comes to the future of diesel in the U.S. Parts Supplier Robert Bosch LLC says it expects diesel sales to grow to 10% of the U.S. market in the next decade.
Analysts like Mike Otomoso, a powertrain expert at J.D. Power & Associates, consider this a very optimistic estimate: "We've seen a little bit of movement, but it's still limited to the German carmakers."
It’s true that Mercedes-Benz, arch-rival BMW and VW bring diesel versions of their cars to the U.S. because they already sell them in big numbers in Europe, where diesel-powered cars are very popular. North American and Japanese car owners prefer to put gasoline into their cars, so domestic automakers have only recently started to delve into this field.
General Motors has already announced that it will bring a diesel version of its Cruze small sedan into the States in 2013 – the first since… well, time immemorial. But then, Chevrolet is also selling diesel-powered cars overseas, so it shouldn’t be that difficult. Cadillac is also contemplating introducing a diesel engine option for its models.
“It’s a really good hedge on the unknown”, said Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, last August. “If you look at how many diesels our competition sells, it’s not small in some cases.”
VW has seen its diesel-powered car sales increase by 37% in 2011 compared to last year. "We've been a huge player in Europe, where diesels have been accepted for years," said company spokesman Scott Vazin. “Now, U.S. buyers are starting to embrace the benefits of diesel.”
On the plus side, modern diesel engines are not what they were 20, or even 10, years ago. They are much cleaner than before and sturdier than their gasoline versions while delivering more low-end grunt along with at least 20-30% lower fuel consumption.
On the other hand, they are typically more expensive and diesel currently costs on average 65 cents more to the gallon than regular unleaded gasoline. But if gasoline eventually comes closer in price, diesels then, with their considerably better mileage, are likely to increase in numbers very soon.
Story References: Detnews
5 Comments:
Hope the diesel trend expands beyond the Germans this side of the Pond...with GM bringing over the Cruze CDX, the Japanese initial salvo otoh, Mazda would bring the SkyActiv-D to the US...
Personally, I'd go for the predictably Japanese reliable SkyActiv-D..should I go for the oil burner route for my next new car purchase.
And here in Europe (done with the noise & smell of Diesels), we have a hard time finding gasoline engines to test drive...
I view diesel as a stop-gap measure here in the US. Sure, you may see about a 30% increase in fuel efficiency but diesel fuel currently is priced to erase almost 20% of that. Diesels will extract a premium in initial cost over many of the gas variants too. A diesel engine "may" last longer but unless you hold onto a car for those extended miles it will only matter if resale recoups more at selling time. Gas engines haven't gone stagnant either, with direct injection, higher compression and boosting allowing for torque and power levels not seen before while remaining miserly at the pump. They too last longer than engines in the past. Anyone remember the thinking that cars were pretty much gone at 100k miles and either already had a rebuild or new engine or were going to? With many today 100k is easily attainable and beyond!
The attraction to hybrid and electric power trains here also primes that side of technology ready for possible advances in hydrogen fuels and their production. I truly believe we here in the US suffer from Euro envy realizing that the Europeans often get tasty models we don't. We also don't get tax incentives for buying diesel. I'm perfectly happy with gas.
In Europe, diesel is often cheaper than gasoline (lots of trucks use diesel, so the excises are lower), diesel cars have better mileage and their CO2 levels are lower which often earns them a green label and nice rebates. Consequently, people tend to prefer this technology over regular gasoline. Actually, some diesel cars are even more fun to drive because of the high torque at low RPMs (especially in the city). So what's not to like??I'm not sure if dieselification is such a good thing because of health-related issues associated with the technology. Particulate Matter from diesels has much more insidious side-effects than regular gasoline. Cars with PM filters perform even worse healthwise (PM is broken down in even finer particles which are causing damage deeper into lung tissue). More and more children in highly dieselized regions are suffering from respiratory diseases. Believe me, here in Belgium I cannot name a single one of my befriended couples who hasn't used aerosol nebulizers for their kids before the age of 2! Not one!
The new Chevrolet boast many features. I thought diesel cars have better mileage.
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