While Japanese manufacturers have focused on hybrid cars in the US, German car makers have placed the early emphasis on diesel models – and with some notable success.
During December, Audi, Volkswagen and BMW all reported strong sales of their diesel models. By the end of the year, TDI models accounted for 43 per cent of Audi Q7 sales and 53 per cent of A3 sales – that far surpasses Audi’s original expectations that TDI models would make up 18-20 per cent of the sales mix for the Q7 and A3 lines.
Meanwhile, one third of customers opted for a diesel BMW X5 model during December – the X5 sold 3,513 models in total, up 22.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
Finally, Volkswagen’s clean diesel TDI models accounted for more than 20 per cent of the company’s total December sales in the US at 4,378 units – this includes the Jetta, Jetta SportWagon, Golf and Touareg TDI models which collectively sold 41,278 units over the course of the year.
