The Diesel Driver » Audi

2011 Diesel Sales Report: Market Share in Germany Hit 49%

Christian Stampfer — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:30:31 +0000

It’s common knowledge that the market share for diesel is in the low single digits in the U.S. Currently, only four manufacturers, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen currently offer diesel-powered automobiles although there will be several automakers joining the diesel fold, including Jeep, Mazda, and Porsche, in the coming 18 months.

In Germany, the picture was quite different in 2011. Overall, looking at new car registration figures from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA or German Federal Motor and Transport Authority) and manufacturer-provided sales data covering Audi, BMW, Citroën, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Seat, Škoda, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo, diesel sales were 48.71% of total new car sales.

Complete charts with data by manufacturer and segment may be found on page two of this article.

Looking at specific categories, such as compact cars or SUVs, is even more interesting.

In compact car sales, the Volkswagen Golf/Jetta line was the diesel market leader with 105,786 units sold. Percentage wise, the Peugeot 308 (not sold in the U.S.) led with 60.24% of buyers choosing the oil burner. The Škoda Octavia was close behind, with 59.05% of buyers going diesel. 43.65% of buyers opted for diesel in this segment overall.

In the smaller mid-sized segment, the Volkswagen Passat (the European model, which differs from the U.S.-specific Passat) led in volume in diesel sales with 86,291 sold. In terms of the diesel take rate, the low-volume Volvo V50 led the way, with 95% of buyers going diesel. The overall take rate for this group, which includes the Audi A4/A5, BMW 3er, and Peugeot 508, was an impressive 74.58%.

In the larger mid-sized segment, the BMW 5 Series was the diesel take-rate leader at 89.86%. It was also the volume leader in a group that includes the Audi A6 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. This category’s overall take rate was 85.83%.

For large luxury sedans, the BMW 7er was the diesel volume leader with 4,242 units sold. The Volkswagen Phaeton (not currently available in the U.S.) was the take-rate leader, with 89..03% of buyers choosing compression ignition. The overall diesel take rate for luxury sedans was 67.22%.

Finally, in the SUV category, the Volkswagen Tiguan (not available as a diesel in the U.S.) led the pack with 31,271 units sold. Two low-volume Land Rovers, the Discovery and Freelander, led in diesel take rate with 99.7% and 99.54% respectively. All three Mercedes-Benz SUVs (the GLK, ML-Class, and R-Class, as well as two BMW SUVs (the BMW X3 and X5), also had take rates in the 90s, as did the Ford Kuga and the Volvo XC60.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Charts and Data By Manufacturer and Segment

Audi Adds A8 TDI Diesel To U.S. Lineup

Paul Riegler — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:58:54 +0000

Audi will offer an A8 diesel sedan later this year, the company announced at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit. The Ingoldstadt-based automaker also announced a supercharged V-6 petrol model, the A8 3.0T.

The 2013 Audi A8 TDI will come with the turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that develops 225 hp and 406 pound-feet of torque in the Audi Q7.

The A8 will become the second full-sized luxury sedan available in the U.S., alongside the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec, and leaves BMW as the only premium German automaker without a full-sized diesel sedan.

The A8 diesel will have similar standard and optional equipment to the current V-8 powered A8 4.2, which starts at $78,750. The Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec starts at $92,550.

EPA fuel economy for the S-Klasse is 20 mpg (11.76 l/100 km) in the city and 31 mpg (7.58 l/100 km) on the highway.

It will be interesting to see what the EPA rating for the Audi A8 TDI will be. In the EU cycle, the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec sold in Germany used 10.1 l/100 km (23.28 mpg) in the city and 5.9 l/100 km (39.86 mpg) on the highway. The German Audi A8 TDI used 7.4 l/100 km (31.78 mpg) in the city and 6.0 l/100 km (39.2 mpg) on the highway. While the two cars are comparable in highway fuel economy, the Audi used roughly 25% less fuel in town.

Start-stop technology will be standard on the new Audi diesel and it will be available with the optional Audi connect infotainment system which incorporates Google Earth maps and real-time SiriusXM traffic information, localized weather, news, real-time fuel prices, Google Local Search, support for Google Send to Car via the myAudi Destination feature, and an in-vehicle hotspot that supports up to eight Wi-Fi devices.

Cadillac Announces ATS Diesel

Paul Riegler — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:18:52 +0000

At an unveiling at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, Cadillac unveiled the 2013 ATS sedan, and confirmed that a diesel version will be offered, although timing for that was not announced.

The ATS is built on a new, rear-wheel-drive platform and is eight inches shorter than the Cadillac CTS. It continues the automaker’s Art & Science design language with a mixture of angular lines and flat surfaces. It has 50/50 weight distribution and uses GM’s Magnetic Ride Control.

Cadillac sees the ATS as a competitor for the BMW 3er Series and the Audi A4. At the launch, Mark Reuss, GM’s North American President, said that the new sedan will be “the most mass-efficient car in the segment.”

Three engines will be offered for 2013. The base engine is a 2.5-liter I-4, developing 200 hp and 188 pound-feet of torque. Optional are a turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 and turbocharged 3.6-liter V-6. Transmission choices include a six-speed manual or automatic. Both rear- and all-wheel-drive will be available.

Cadillac was the first U.S. automaker to offer a diesel back in the late 70s but the 5.7-liter V-8 engines suffered from poor reliability and tarnished the reputation of diesels for generations to come.

2011 Year in Review: Diesel in America

Paul Riegler — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:52:42 +0000

2011 was a good year for diesel fans. Sales of diesel-powered automobiles in the U.S. were up 39% in the first half of the year, and it looks like that figure will increase when all of 2011 is tallied.

Two entirely new diesels were introduced in 2011, namely the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec and the Volkswagen Passat TDI . Both cars are four-door sedans with excellent fuel economy and plenty of passenger room.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz introduced a completely redesigned ML350 BlueTec over the summer.

Earlier this year, readers of The Diesel Driver chose the BMW 335d as the 2011 Diesel Car of the Year . The 3er received 29.6% of the vote, and 3,669 readers from 43 countries took part in the balloting. In second place was the Volkswagen Golf TDI with 16.1 percent of the vote. The Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, with 16 percent of the vote, came in third.

In August, TDD editors Jonathan Spira and Christian Stampfer traveled to the Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen to take delivery of The Diesel Driver’s new E350 BlueTec sedan . Since then, the E-Klasse has visited four countries (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S.) and 10 states plus the District of Columbia in the U.S. Its maiden drive was from Sindelfingen to Maastricht, and its first trip in the U.S. was from New York to Kennebunkport.

In a poll we conducted earlier this year, 749 readers told us why they purchased a diesel. The most often cited reason was fuel economy followed by power and torque. Reliability was third, followed by reduced emissions and a higher residual value.

From the Tokyo Motor Show, Jonathan Spira reported that BMW and Mercedes-Benz are starting to offer diesels in Japan, traditionally the land of the gasoline-electric hybrid. Christian Stampfer reported from Frankfurt on the newest diesels and alternative-fuel vehicles being introduced by BMW and by Mercedes-Benz and Jonathan Spira discovered that Jaguar Land Rover will offer a diesel in the U.S. although exactly which vehicle and when remain uncertain.

Finally, balloting for the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year started last month and you can still place your vote or tell your friends to vote for their favorite diesel. This year’s nominees include seven passenger cars; the Audi A3 TDI, the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec, the Volkswagen Golf TDI, the Volkswagen Jetta Sedan TDI, the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI, and the Volkswagen Passat TDI, as well as six SUVs, the Audi Q7 TDI, the BMW X5 xDrive35d, the Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec, and the Volkswagen Touareg TDI.

Voting ends at midnight on March 1, 2012. The 2012 Diesel Car of the Year, as well as the two runners up, will be announced at the New York International Auto Show in April 2012.

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SEL Review and Report

Jonathan Spira — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:49:37 +0000

In the U.S., the Passat has had a bit of an identity crisis. First introduced as the Passat in Germany in 1973
and developed from the Audi 80/Fox platform (VW had acquired Audi in 1964), the new front-wheel-drive sedan with a water-cooled engine was the harbinger of things to come out of Wolfsburg.

When it reached the U.S., it wasn’t called the Passat, however. (Passat is the German word for “trade wind”; at the time, VW was heavily invested in naming its cars after winds, including Golf (Gulf stream), Jetta (Jet stream), and Scirocco (Sirocco).) It was called the Dasher, which is not a wind, of course, just as the Golf, which was introduced in the U.S. by VW in 1974 as the Rabbit.

We first drove the new 2012 Passat TDI in June around the fine state of Tennessee but, since it didn’t reach dealerships until later in the summer, we didn’t get a chance to spend a week in one until just recently.

Known as the New Midsize Sedan (NMS) until its unveiling at the beginning of this year, the Passat NMS is not available in Germany. It was designed with the U.S. market in mind and is the sole production vehicle at Volkswagen’s brand new plant in Chattanooga. It’s also being built in China for the Chinese market.

The previous generation Passat (a facelifted version is still being sold in Europe but it was last sold in the U.S. in 2010 and there was no 2011 model available) was thought to be too small and too expensive for American tastes. With fluctuating exchange rates, lowering the price of an imported Passat would have proven to be quite a challenge.

Happily for customers, Volkswagen was able to neatly address all three problems in one fell swoop. The automaker decided to build the new Passat in the U.S. and make it bigger but use the same engineering and engines as the European version.

The 2012 Passat sells for $7000 less than its predecessor (this is a 25% reduction). The TDI (turbo diesel) model comes with the same inline-four as found in the Golf TDI and Jetta TDI. The new Passat is also available in two gasoline variants. The base model has a 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine and the Passat SEL has a 3.6-liter V-6. It’s also one of two new-for-2012 cars (the other is the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec) that is a contender for the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year.

FIRST NEW PASSAT DELIVERY – A DIESEL!

The first of the new 2012 Passats to be delivered to a customer was, appropriately, a black Passat TDI, delivered on September 13, 2012 to its new owner, Matt Duchesne, of San Jose, California. The delivery took place at Stevens Creek Volkswagen.

While Volkswagen doesn’t offer factory delivery in Chattanooga (which is truly a pity), the automaker did fly Duchesne to the factory for a tour and filled his trunk with VW gear. Shell Oil presented him with $500 in gift cards to purchase diesel fuel, a gift which, since the Passat gets 43 mpg (5.47 l/100 km), should keep his tank full for at least the first 5,000 miles (8,000 km).

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Driving the 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI and Passat TDI Interior

Vote for the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year

Jonathan Spira — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:01:22 +0000

Voting for the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year has started. Four companies, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, currently offer diesel passenger cars in the U.S.

This year’s stellar field of nominees includes seven passenger cars; the Audi A3 TDI, the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec, the Volkswagen Golf TDI, the Volkswagen Jetta Sedan TDI, the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI, and the Volkswagen Passat TDI, as well as six SUVs, the Audi Q7 TDI, the BMW X5 xDrive35d, the Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTec, the Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec, and the Volkswagen Touareg TDI.

Two of these models, namely the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec and the Volkswagen Passat TDI, are new for 2012. The winner of the 2011 Diesel Car of the Year Award, the BMW 335d, is no longer in production, so the field is wide open, and it’s up to readers of The Diesel Driver to make the decision. Last year, over 3600 readers took part in the vote.

Voting starts at noon on November 18 and ends at midnight on March 1, 2012. The 2012 Diesel Car of the Year, as well as the two runners up, will be announced at the New York International Auto Show in April 2012.

Each year, The Diesel Driver’s readers will select the Diesel Car of the Year, recognizing three vehicles offered in the U.S. as the people’s choice. As jurors, you can vote for any one of the 13 nominees. Criteria range from fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions to performance, handling, styling, comfort, and the overall package.

The Diesel Driver is the world’s leading publication geared towards automotive enthusiasts who are interested in diesel-powered passenger cars. The Diesel Driver offers in-depth road tests and reviews, diesel-oriented travel features, and features that focus on the latest in diesel technology.

Coming Up in The Diesel Driver in December and 2012

Paul Riegler — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:27:26 +0000

We have exciting news about upcoming features, and coverage, and additions to our short-term press fleet.

Balloting for the 2012 Diesel Car of the Year will start on Friday, November 18^th. You can read about the winner of the 2011 Diesel Car of the Year, the BMW 335d, and, starting on the 18th, select from 13 contenders from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

Next up is a nine-month report on our Volkswagen Jetta TDI long-term test auto. Currently in our short-term test fleet is the Volkswagen Passat TDI, which we first reviewed in June . We’ll have a new review of the Passat in December for you.

We’ll soon be adding the 2012 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec and 2012 Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTec to our short-term test fleet and will report on those vehicles as well.

In December, we’ll also feature a report on the unique safety features of our long-term Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec.

We’ll kick off our diesel coverage in early 2012 with a review of the 2012 Audi A3 TDI.

And finally, we’ll also take a look at a few hybrids in early 2012, including the 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid and the 2012 Lexus HS 250 h.

2012 Porsche Panamera Diesel – First Look

Christian Stampfer — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:04:16 +0000

Introduced at the 13th Auto Shanghai in 2009, the Porsche Panamera represents the latest expansion of the Porsche model range following the Porsche Cayenne in 2002. The Panamera is a four-seat hatchback luxury liner and is available with a variety of petrol engines. With the world premiere of the Panamera Diesel at the 64th IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, a second diesel model (in addition to the Cayenne Diesel) joins the Porsche family and will be available in European markets.

The model name “Panamera” is borrowed from the legendary long-distance race Carrera Panamericana. With average fuel consumption of 6.5 l/100 km (39.2 mpg) and a potential range of 1,200 km (745 miles) the Panamera Diesel truly lives up to its name. The 250 hp diesel engine produces 405 pound-feet of torque between 1,750 rpm and 2,750 rpm and it takes the Panamera Diesel 6.8 seconds to accelerate from 0 – 100 km/h (0 – 62 mph) and 4.5 seconds from 80 km/ to 120 km/h (50 – 75 mph). The top speed is 242 km/h (150 mph).

The diesel engine itself comes originally from Audi, a sister brand within the Volkswagen Group. Porsche engineers reworked the engine and adapted it to the unique demands of the Panamera Diesel. The modifications include the latest technology in common rail direct fuel injection including piezo valves at a pressure of 2000 bar and turbocharging via electrically-controlled variable geometry turbocharger. Combined with the highly advanced eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission and the standard auto start/stop function, the Panamera Diesel is the most fuel efficient model offered by Porsche. It beats the Panamera S Hybrid (7.1 l/100km; 33.6 mpg) and the Cayenne Diesel (7.2 l/100 km, 33.4 mpg) by roughly 10% and meets the EU 5 standards easily. Its CO2 emissions are 172 g/km.

Options for the Panamera Diesel include the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), adaptive damper control and adaptive air suspension with additional air volume offering the driver a wide spread of suspension characteristics from Comfort, to Sport and Sport Plus. The Panamera Diesel comes equipped with comfort seats, a two-zone automatic climate control, and a 7-inch color screen with ten audio speakers.

Shipping the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec to the U.S.

Jonathan Spira — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:01:45 +0000

The inevitable epilogue of every European Delivery trip is referred to as “drop-off,” the point at which the owner hands over his car to the shipper for ocean transport to the United States.

We dropped off the 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec at the offices of BLG Logistics in Bremerhaven on August 11, 2011 after driving from Arnhem to Bremen and then to Bremerhaven.

BLG is Mercedes-Benz’ shipping agent and takes care of all aspects of shipping the car to the United States, including booking passage and customs brokerage. In the U.S., customs brokerage is handled by E.H. Harms USA, a subsidiary of BLG. BLG, which was founded in 1877 as the Bremer Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft (Bremen Warehouse Company), is an international logistics organization that, among other things, is responsible for exporting automobiles from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz among others from Europe to the U.S.

BLG’s AutoTerminal Bremerhaven is the largest auto- and RoRo (roll-on roll-off) terminal in Europe. In 2010 it handled 1.6 million automobiles, counting both import and export. The AutoTerminal is divided into two areas, Section Nordhafen and Section Kaiserhafen. Almost all of BLG’s passenger car operations, ranging from storage to its technical center, are in the Section Nordhafen.

BLG’s clients include over 25 major automakers in Europe, ranging from Audi to Jaguar to Porsche to Volvo. The range of services offered (not every automaker uses all of the services) ranges from pre-delivery inspection (PDI) to repairs to accessory installation. To understand how large the Section Nordhafen is, BLG can store a total of 130,000 automobiles (40,000 in covered storage) at any one time. Not only new cars are transported. During my visit to the AutoTerminal, I saw a variety of used cars and trucks making their way to and from different continents as well as a 1950s fire truck, destination unknown to me.

The next day, BLG had already booked the E350 on the Independence II, which was scheduled to depart Bremerhaven on August 21 and arrive in Baltimore, where Mercedes-Benz USA has its Vehicle Preparation Center (VPC), on September 1, a mere 11 days later.

The Independence II is a Ro-Ro (roll-on roll-off) ship. It is owned by Arc (American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier), which owns a total of nine ships. Thanks to a charter agreement with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), a related company, Arc transports automobiles as well as high and heavy (i.e. oversized) equipment and its fleet regularly calls on ports in New York, Baltimore, Charleston, and Brunswick. (Our BMW 335d traveled on WWL’s MV Manon in late 2009 and WWL transports over 1.2 million vehicles by sea each year.)

Click here to continue to Page 2 - The Voyage to Baltimore and A Virtual Tour of the Bremerhaven AutoTerminal

Jaguar Land Rover to Offer Diesel Engines in the U.S.

Jonathan Spira — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:30:59 +0000

Jaguar Land Rover will offer U.S. customers the option of a diesel-powered Land Rover in the next few years, although the timeframe has yet to be determined and it is likely not to be imminent.

The good news, which came as the result of a question this reporter posed in a Q&A session with Jaguar Land Rover executives today at the International Automobile Show in Frankfurt, will help the company meet upcoming fuel-economy standards. It should also help Land Rover’s offerings appeal to environmentally-conscious SUV buyers.

Both Jaguar and Land Rover currently offer European customers the option of a diesel engine and the automaker’s 3.0-liter turbo diesel V-6 in standard in many Land Rover and Range Rover models. This is the engine we are likely to see across the pond as it meets current European emissions standards and it should be able to pass EPA tests with minimal additional plumbing.

Four manufacturers, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, currently offer American customers a selection of diesel-powered SUVs and buyer acceptance is high.

Comparable model sales for both the Audi Q7 TDI and the Volkswagen Touareg TDI compared to their petrol equivalents were 43% in the first half of 2011 in the U.S. The Touareg TDI outsold the gasoline version in the second quarter.

Based on these figures, it’s clear that luxury SUV buyers are ready for diesels. By comparison, hybrid SUVs have enjoyed far less market acceptance.