By Jonathan Spira on 21 October 2010
Is 2010 the year of the diesel? A new analysis by The Diesel Driver shows an increasingly strong preference for diesel-powered cars compared to the petrol-powered equivalent models
The Diesel Driver analyzed detailed new-car sales data from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, the four companies that currently offer diesel-powered passenger vehicles in the U.S. (a detailed spreadsheet of this data may be found at the end of this article). The data cover the first nine months of 2010 and show that diesel sales have not only continued to slowly increase but, in the case of one auto maker, they have reached a point where more buyers chose a diesel than a petrol-powered equivalent model. The trends for the three months ending September 30, 2010 are particularly worthy of note.
At Audi, 53% of buyers chose a diesel in Q3 over the petrol equivalent. For the first six months, only 45% went diesel.
The percentage of buyers choosing a diesel over petrol at Volkswagen increased from 36% to 41% and the Touareg joined the Jetta Sportwagen as a diesel model of preference with Q3 buyers choosing the Touareg TDI by a ratio of 3 to 1.
Given the relative lack of hype around diesel-powered automobiles (compared to hybrids), and the fact that the diesel market was virtually undetectable in the U.S. just a few years ago, the fact that 33% of car buyers in the third quarter chose a diesel over the comparable petrol-powered model is indeed noteworthy.
Total diesel sales for the first nine months of 2010 were 55,353 (the figure for petrol-powered cars was 115,041). This represents 33% of overall sales. Based on these numbers, diesel sales (when compared to comparable petrol models) will unquestionably comprise one-third of (comparable model) sales for calendar year 2010.
For the first nine months of 2010, only two diesel models consistently outsold their petrol variants, namely the Audi A3 TDI and the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Meanwhile, the BMW 335d and the Volkswagen Touareg are next in line for membership in this exclusive club.
VW CONTINUES AS VOLUME LEADER
In terms of volume diesel sales, Volkswagen lead with 14,413 diesels sold in Q3 and 37,803 sold in the first nine months of 2010. BMW continued in second place with 2914 diesels sold in Q3 and 8352 sold in the first nine months.
Audi, which had the highest percentage of diesel sales in Q3 with 53%, came in third with total diesel sales of 1775 (year-to-date sales were 4631). Mercedes-Benz, the company that introduced the first passenger diesel car in 1936, came in fourth, with 1893 diesel sales in Q3.
The Diesel Driver expects the overall uptick in diesel sales to continue as automakers introduce new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz recently added the E350 BlueTec sedan diesel and BMW is expected to add additional diesel models including a 5er Series diesel in the coming months.
Correction: 22 October 2010
An earlier version of this article stated that comparable model diesel sales had risen to 38%. It also stated that 73% of BMW’s comparable model sales were for diesels. As a result of receiving incomplete sales data from several automakers, multiple corrections were made to the spreadsheet. Actual Q3 diesel sales were 33% industry-wide in the U.S. and BMW’s Q3 diesel sales were 29%. The incomplete data had no material impact on other figures.
Source:TheDieselDriver
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