Photo: Chrysler
Even though diesel cars have yet to really catch on in the U.S., buyers are definitely responding well to all the new offerings available on the market. According HybridCars.com, sales of diesel cars and SUVs in the U.S. are up 25 percent for the first half of the year, which compares to overall new-car growth of just 4.2 percent.
For each month of 2014 so far, the study put together by HybridCars.com and Baum and Associates shows that diesel sales have increased year-over-year including big double-digit gains from March through April. Most surprisingly, these figures don’t even include pickup trucks or vans, which means the hot-selling 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has been left out of this data. The Ram 1500 is the only light duty diesel pickup available in the U.S. right now, and Ram is having a hard time keeping on dealer lots. In the near future, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota will all offer light-duty diesel trucks.
June sales represented the 43rd month of increased sales over the last 47 months helping to account for a 30 percent increase in diesel sales from 2010 to 2013. It also doesn’t hurt that a growing number of automakers are offering diesel cars and utility vehicles including new arrivals from GM and Chrysler, but German automakers still make up the bulk of the diesel offerings in the U.S. The study says that excluding the 19 diesel trucks and fullsize vans on the market (mostly for commercial purposes), there are currently 27 different diesel cars and SUVs from which customers can choose, and that number is expected to double over the next 18 months.
While diesel sales have been steadily increasing, the data show that sales of hybrid vehicles have been dropping off this year. The press release didn’t give a year-over-year comparison, but through the first six months of 2014, hybrid sales have fallen considerably including double-digit declines in January, February and June.
June sales represented the 43rd month of increased sales over the last 47 months helping to account for a 30 percent increase in diesel sales from 2010 to 2013. It also doesn’t hurt that a growing number of automakers are offering diesel cars and utility vehicles including new arrivals from GM and Chrysler, but German automakers still make up the bulk of the diesel offerings in the U.S. The study says that excluding the 19 diesel trucks and fullsize vans on the market (mostly for commercial purposes), there are currently 27 different diesel cars and SUVs from which customers can choose, and that number is expected to double over the next 18 months.
While diesel sales have been steadily increasing, the data show that sales of hybrid vehicles have been dropping off this year. The press release didn’t give a year-over-year comparison, but through the first six months of 2014, hybrid sales have fallen considerably including double-digit declines in January, February and June.
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