Ford Not Hurrying to Bring Diesels Stateside

Have you noticed how automakers can’t really decides what the future has in store for us when it comes to what’s under the bonnet? Fiat’s CEO says it’s diesels and petrols, while the Japanese would have us believe it’s hybrids. However, when your models have to cheep and cheerful for the US consumers, gasoline is the only real fuel to burn.

In Europe, Ford is the master of burning diesel, but US-made SUVs and pickups are slow to follow the trend. Despite their efforts to make their products as global as possible, Dearborn still doesn’t think diesels will work in the States.

“I love diesels and want them to be a solution,” said US Ford’s director of Powertrain Research, according to Ward Auto. “But it’s a tough economic challenge because turbodiesels typically add 10% to 15% to a vehicle’s cost, and diesel fuel currently runs about $0.20 higher than regular gasoline.”

If there’s enough demand, Ford will offer more diesel passenger cars in the US. But there should be already, as Audi and Volkswagen are doing really good.

“Will customers pay more for a diesel? Will they get a payback?” he added. “Diesel fuel may continue to go up in price, so we’re looking at it. It may be that diesels will be a choice electric vehicles.”

The problem might lie with standardization of diesel fuel at the pumps, but if the US pulls this off, it could lower their dependency on fossil fuels quite a bit. In addition, Ford could end up lowering its Corporate Average Fuel Economy, helping them on their way to 54.5mpg by 2025.