U.S. Clean Diesel Auto Sales Up 37 Percent

The 20.4 percent increase in clean diesel automobile sales in August continued the strong growth of diesel car sales in the United States during 2011, according to Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.

For the year, domestic diesel auto sales have increased by an impressive 37 percent over 2010 compared to the overall auto market’s 10.4 percent increase.

The August 2011 clean diesel auto sales statistics compiled by www.hybridcars.com and market analyst Baum and Associates show that diesel cars sales increased by 20.4 percent over August 2010. As a comparison, the overall U.S. auto market was up 7.5 percent in August.

"The steady increase in clean diesel auto sales is a reflection of the U.S. public’s shift toward clean and more fuel efficient vehicles,” Schaeffer said. “With the increased fuel prices over the past year and the government’s new fuel efficiency standards, American drivers are seeing that clean diesel cars are the best option for reliable green transportation.

For the past 13 months, clean diesel auto sales have increased each month over the previous year according to www.hybridcars.com Market Dashboard statistics. (Each month’s sales statistics are measured against the same month in the previous year. Hybrid sales since April 2011 have decreased primarily due to the major production and distribution problems caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan.)

By 2015, Baum and Associates expects diesel car sales to grow to 6.0 to 6.5 percent of the entire U.S. market, compared to just over 3.0 percent today. The research firm J.D. Power & Associates sees the U.S. diesel market share growing steadily to 7.4 percent by 2017.

Schaeffer said fuel-efficient clean diesel technology is expected to play an expanded role in meeting the 54.5 mpg fuel economy standards by 2025, as mandated by the new greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency regulations announced by EPA this summer.

“While almost 50 percent of all cars in Europe are diesel-powered, slightly more than three percent of cars and light trucks in the U.S. are diesels,” Schaeffer said. “But the positive monthly diesel sales increases in the U.S. and the new higher federal fuel efficiency requirements are both positives signs for the future growth of clean diesel sales.