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VW posts big diesel sales - the shape of things to come?
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VW's Jetta TDI is drawing a new generation of green performance enthusiasts to diesel
My sister called me this past weekend to say that she and her husband had just purchased a new Volkswagen Jetta TDI. This was not surprising to me, even though they are avowed performance enthusiasts. The other car on their short list was the MINI Cooper, so I asked her what made the difference?
"The car is pretty darn cool. We bought it for the fuel efficiency without the wimpiness of a hybrid. The Jetta has a nice mid-size fee, but it's a green car. The VW dealership was jumping and he delivered another TDI as we were signing the final paperwork yesterday," she said.
So it came as no shock to me when Volkswagen announced that their June 2009 sales (19,027 units) represented an 18 percent decrease over June 2008. However, their new clean diesels posted their best sales month with 5,072 cars sold, representing an impressive 26 percent of total VW sales in the U.S.
TDI is VW's product name for their clean, turbo-diesel with direct fuel injection. TDI's accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales. The modern "clean diesel" designation is the result of some serious R&D, including a system that sprays carbolic acid into the exhaust stream. This reacts in the catalytic converter and drastically reduces particulate and greenhouse gas pollution from the TDI.
"It appears that U.S. consumers are starting to realize the many benefits of today's clean diesels--vehicles that attain more than 30 percent better fuel economy while emitting 25 percent less greenhouse gas emission, all without sacrificing driving dynamics," said Mark Barnes, COO of Volkswagen of America.
Volkswagen also announced today that they have been named a corporate quality leader by Strategic Visions Total Quality Index. For 2009, Volkswagen's New Beetle, Rabbit, Jetta, CC, and Tiguan were all recognized as TQI leaders in their respective segments.
What this means to us is that our past conceptions about diesel engines need to be sustainably recycled. We can have a greener car and still have performance and a fun-driving vehicle. And that's good news all the way around.
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