September 16, 2008

Diesel Vehicles to Account For 10% of U.S. Market by 2015

Diesel vehicles account for about 50 percent of European markets, but only 2 percent in the U.S. But that is about to change according to Mike Omotoso, senior manager at J.D. Power & Associates, who estimates that the figure will rise to 10 percent by 2015, AdAge reports.

German automakers like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are leading the way by launching new models in America. But first they must overcome the higher price of diesel fuel and the fact that fewer than half of the country’s 170,000 gas stations sell diesel. On top of that automakers also have to  change American’s misperception of diesel as lower performance, smelly, and loud.

BMW is readying a diesel microsite to help dispel misconceptions. Last year, the company also started a campaign for its Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance engineo with ads in magazines such as Smithsonian.

While German automakers are making a push for more diesel vehicles in America, U.S. automakers are   pushing hard for $25 billion in government loans to help the industry switch over to more energy efficient vehicles.

Automakers around the world are shifting to more eco-friendly vehicles, but according to a study by European Federation for Transport and Environment, car makers are not doing enough to meet the EU’s CO2 targets.

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