The US market has for decades been famously diesel-phobic. A combination of ultra-strict particulate emissions laws and a cultural distaste for “truck juice” has kept US diesel sales down low. Until now, it would seem. With VW, Mazda and others heavily promoting diesel technology in the US, DERV sales are finally starting to take off, and they’re seemingly killing hybrid sales as they go.
Diesel passenger car sales were up by 25 per cent for the first six months of this year, with April seeing a 60 per cent year-on-year increase. Forty-three of the past 47 months have seen US diesel sales rise, with 31 of those months seeing double-digit percentage increases.
These figures come from the US-based Diesel Technology forum, whose executive director Allen Schaeffer said that "the consistently positive sales trends for clean diesel are particularly noteworthy since they have occurred over a recessionary economic period when diesel fuel prices have trended upward, and consumers have many more fuel-efficient vehicle choices than ever before. Today, the clean diesel choices include 27 cars and SUVs, nine vans and 10 pick-up trucks. We expect that number to nearly double in the next 18 months, and we expect that more models in more brands will only generate higher sales.
“While diesel cars and pick-up trucks make up only 3 per cent of the overall US vehicle market, most analysts predict continued growth, with many believing the diesel market will double by 2018.”
According to the Forum, those diesel sales have taken place against a backdrop of falling hybrid sales. In 2014, only the month of May saw an increase in hybrid sales of just 6.6 per cent, while in February, hybrid sales actually fell by 28 per cent.
All this is happening when there is an apparent increase in global oil stocks. According to BP, known global oil reserves will last for another 53 years at current consumption rates, and the company has raised its estimate of total global reserves by 1.1 per cent. Meanwhile, key US oil reserves have actually risen by 26 per cent to 44 billion barrels.
