VW News: As the Diesel Emits: Volkswagen's Fixed TDIs Are Hot Sellers

[William Maley]

You would think the stigma of the diesel emission scandal would keep people away from picking up a fixed Volkswagen TDI model, but you would be wrong.

Reuters notes that in April, 12 percent of Volkswagen's sales were for TDI models (about 3,196 vehicles). This is quite impressive when you take into consideration that Volkswagen was only given the go-ahead to sell TDI models with the fix back in mid-April.

But we have to wonder if this percentage would be the same if Volkswagen didn't put some enticing incentives on TDI vehicles. As we reported last month, Volkswagen is offering either 0% APR for up to 72 months and $5,000 cash bonus if you decide to buy or an $8,500 cash bonus if you lease. 

Source: Reuters

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[A Horse With No Name]

They are a fantastic car, the whole TDI scandal is kind of a shame in a way.

[smk4565]

Price Sells Cars!!!

[ocnblu]

This substantiates what I've been saying.  DIESELS RULE.  People want them!

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

This substantiates what I've been saying.  DIESELS RULE.  People want them!

Diesels are wonderful...I would love to own another one.

[G. David Felt]

Price does entice, but then VW has a loyal fan base. This will be a Hiccup for sales of fixed TDIs but I doubt we will see it stay after these discounted units are gone.

[ocnblu]

9 hours ago, dfelt said:

Price does entice, but then VW has a loyal fan base. This will be a Hiccup for sales of fixed TDIs but I doubt we will see it stay after these discounted units are gone.

Purely political.  There are deranged forces afoot attempting to force people into the fatal compromise of electrics.  Time and time again the public shows little interest in electric cars... and this is all over the world.  The Chinese are also showing "tepid at best" interest in silly electric cars that strip freedom and are a blatant waste of money.

[Drew Dowdell]

Chicken and egg.

The Chinese had virtually no charging network last time I looked. Interest will grow when filling stations do.

[A Horse With No Name]

17 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Chicken and egg.

The Chinese had virtually no charging network last time I looked. Interest will grow when filling stations do.

Here in Columbus The interest in electrics is very strong actually 

10 hours ago, dfelt said:

Price does entice, but then VW has a loyal fan base. This will be a Hiccup for sales of fixed TDIs but I doubt we will see it stay after these discounted units are gone.

If The político climate changes we may well see them bring diesels back 

Really looking forward to test driving a Cruze diesel!

[Stew]

IMHO, they could go right back to selling them  The public has a short memory.  Did the Camry lose it's sales crown during the whole unintended acceleration fiasco?  Nope.  Despite that recalls and lawsuits are still out there for GM's ignition fiasco hasn't had the slightest bearing on GM sales.  Especially with GM jumping into the diesel fray, i think it would be a mistake for VW to abandon them. 

[Frisky Dingo]

It's not just price, because we've selling ours for MSRP.

There's people that just genuinely want them and will buy without heavy incentives. VW could easily just bring them back.

[riviera74]

Good for VW that their diesels are selling again. Still no substitute for torque.

Electrics may be the future, but there are good reasons they should be: nearly infinite torque and you can change the source of how you generate your electricity.  Winston Churchill said prior to WW2 that it is a good thing that crude oil is in so many places that any one country could not totally dominate oil supplies.  Unfortunately, OPEC showed up not long after Churchill died and has made a (partial) mockery of that thought.  Because electricity can be generated from so many domestic sources, no one here will be subject to foreign interference.  Both nuclear and renewable sources will be more than enough to end our dependence on oil, at least within a reasonably short time.  Electric vehicles are not the threat some people think it is (in theory),  They just need to be made reliable and fun to drive, and that will come soon enough.

[67impss]

I never understood the reasoning behind the idea that because VW cheated on emissions that diesels were on their death bed. All of the stories of European auto makers one by one dropping diesels from their product lines. It made no sense, company x is found guilty of cheating people out of caffeine in their cola products so all beverage makers drop cola products yet there's a sizable demand for caffeine drinks. No other industry out there would leave a market demand unfulfilled. 

[oldshurst442]

I view VW fans in the US the same way  I view hockey fans in the US

• There are a few of them. Not as many as the more popular sports like football or baseball or basketball. (GM, Ford, Toyota)
• But the loyal fans are freakin' loyal. No NHL lock-out or strike will keep them away (No emissions scandal will keep them away)
• In some cities, hockey is THE sport in winter such as in Boston or Minneapolis...(just like VW's diesel engine....nothing else will do for these folks but VW's trusty TDI)

[Drew Dowdell]

12 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I view VW fans in the US the same way  I view hockey fans in the US

• There are a few of them. Not as many as the more popular sports like football or baseball or basketball. (GM, Ford, Toyota)
• But the loyal fans are freakin' loyal. No NHL lock-out or strike will keep them away (No emissions scandal will keep them away)
• In some cities, hockey is THE sport in winter such as in Boston or Minneapolis...(just like VW's diesel engine....nothing else will do for these folks but VW's trusty TDI)

Excellent analogy!