Volkswagen will not sell any 2017 model year vehicles in the USA equipped with diesel engines. This comes after the brand did not sell any MY2016 units with TDI engines, which came shortly after its diesel sales ban in the United States of America, in late 2015.
Volkswagen representatives announced their intention of focusing on other products in the U.S. two months ago, but it may be possible that the German brand will not sell TDIs on American soil in the foreseeable future. With the advent of hybrids, electric cars, and fuel cell vehicles, Volkswagen might not be interested in selling diesels in America at all.
As Jalopnik noted, Volkswagen customers that are not interested in a buyback are still waiting for a fix, but any potential clients for TDI-engined vehicles are not queuing in dealerships to make a purchase.
Since VW would probably have a hard time getting over the entire emissions scandal in the USA, it might be too costly for the brand to market new diesel cars on the market, which is why it has not requested federal certification for any MY2016 or MY2017 TDI-engined automobiles.
Other brands have noticed this summer that homologation procedures for diesel-engined cars have been extended in the U.S., and the scrutiny that would come to a new Volkswagen TDI unit would probably bring more harm than good for the automaker.
As we previously noted, Volkswagen wants to shift its approach to the American market towards its 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, as well as crossovers.
At first, Volkswagen representatives stated that they would not focus on diesels in the USA soon, but the automaker’s latest plans with electric cars might help it reach CAFE regulations for 2025 without any compression-ignited engines in its lineup.
For the moment, Volkswagen has not stated that it will not sell diesels in the USA anymore, but they have yet to deny the rumors that have emerged after the $1.21 billion payments proposed to their dealers for the damage inflicted by the emissions scandal.