Study: Government Favors EVs over Diesels

But that's one heck of an assumption.

Not all people here don't buy diesels to save fuel. Sure some do at the lower end of the wage scale but if you can afford a £90,000 Range Rover you're not buying a diesel to save £10 or even £20 a week in fuel costs, you buy it because it has stacks and stacks of torque. A friend of mine who has a bob or two has a collection of fine automobiles and could easily afford to run a petrol V8 Range Rover but has the diesel because the same engine size in a V8 gives slightly improved economy but lots more power.

When diesels started to become popular here about 18-20 years ago, the only people who had previously bought them were penny pinchers and taxi drivers. People who didn't mind the compromise of slow acceleration in exchange for much improved economy. Then the latest common rail diesels came out and you got the same acceleration as a petrol, much improved economy and they didn't sound like tractors. I remember the boss of a company I worked with getting a diesel BMW in the mid 1990's to much ridicule, but he had the last laugh when people saw how good it was. It was a real eye opener at the time. A time when petrol cost as much here as it now does in the US!

Don't assume people buy diesels purely to save on fuel. The best smiles per gallon I had in a car was a diesel VW Jetta. It was crazy torquey. It just wanted to wheel spin all the time, yet returned high 40's to the UK gallon.

 

agreed, but diesel costs more here, and most people buy these cars for show, and not for go. i'm not saying they won't sell any, just not many. but what do i know?

 

When the clean diesels came out in 2009, the gumment gave out incentives until the allotment was used up.

 

Diesel costs more here too, about £0.08p a litre or £0.30/$0.48c a US gallon. People buy Range Rovers, Audi's and BMW's for show too. It's a mind set that changes as fuel gets more expensive. There are still people who turn their noses up at diesels but others realise that in certain vehicles they worth having, despite the extra fuel costs.

 

unfortunately, our petrol prices are moving in the wrong direction.

 

Interesting how American policy is the direct opposite. a new study commissioned by Audi?​

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Audi Gets Snippy, Publishes Survey To Prove That Americans Want Diesels, Not Electric Cars​

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Audi Is Trying To Prove Americans Like Diesels More Than Electric...​

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Not so fast Speedy! Study: Consumers Very Interested In Electric Cars & Hybrids. Diesels, Not So Much
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I had reduced sales tax when I bought my prius. I think that is expired here now. Some states charge property tax, or other fees based on the value of the vehicle. IMHO that is counter productive as it incentivises people to keep older less efficient vehicles. I know california and virginia have such taxes, and texas does not.

The low fuel taxes also may be hurting diesel, hybrid, and plug-in cars.

CleanMPG Forums - The Turbo Diesel Discrimination Story

Higher oil taxes may incentivize these things better as well.

Most interesting in the survey to me was the breakdown in age.

This indicates that younger drivers 18-34 would buy based on tco.

Harris Interactive: Harris Polls > Nearly One in Four Car Owners are More Interested in Hybrid Vehicles than a Year Ago

It will be interesting if oil prices stay stable for the next couple of years ($90-$120/bbl), and new oil taxes are not added, how adoption will go. I expect only slow growth of diesel and hybrids but rapid growth (50%+/yr of plug-ins).