During August, the price of on-highway diesel fuel in the US has hovered around $3.90 per gallon. Regular gasoline has been at about $3.55 per gallon as the national average, according the Energy Information Administration.
That’s a difference of about 35 cents per gallon, and it’s been a few years now that diesel has been noticeably more expensive than gasoline.
Yet, sales of diesel engine cars and SUVs has been taking off in the US – up by 25% in vehicle registrations from 2010 to 2012, according the RL Polk & Co.
As you can see in the table, the number of light-duty diesel models is expected to skyrocket in the next two years – from 27 models now to more than 55.
Diesel trucks are obviously important for commercial vehicles on the nation’s highways. But why have diesel engines taken off in passenger vehicles?
Here’s a few reasons from sources such as RL Polk & Co. while speaking at the Diesel Technology Forum….
- There’s a lot of product to choose from – diesel versions of a few popular models will be rolling out in the next model year including the Audi A4, BMW 328d, Chevrolet Cruze, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Mazda 6.
- Corporate Average Fuel Economy target of hitting 54.5 MPG by 2025. Diesel engines are 20% to 40% more fuel efficient than comparable gasoline engines.
- Most of these have been German cars known for high performance, such as the Volkswagen Golf TDI and Jetta TDI. US automakers are entering the competition now, so the race is on for domination in clean diesel.
Source:
Forbes
