Diesel – still a dirty word in Canada?

Hybrids and electric cars may seem to be the darlings of the future of transportation, but German automakers don’t want you to forget about diesel.

Cleaner burning than ordinary gasoline, diesel is cheaper and has 20 to 40 per cent better fuel economy. Yet, demand is still small. However, in 2008 Volkswagon’s Jetta TDI diesel model won Green Car of the Year in the US.

Despite the award, diesel automakers are keeping a low profile, even on their brand new models. Why? Because they know in Canada, that a lot of minds have already been made up. Canadians don’t think of – or treat – diesel as “green.”

Meanwhile in Europe, diesels account for almost half of the new car sales. Here in Canada, the projection is for hybrid cars to make up about the same by 2016. Diesel, on the other hand, is projected to be only about 10 per cent by that time.

This may be due to the fact that some provincial governments (like Ontario and British Columbia) offer incentives and rebates on hybrid or electric purchases. No such rebate exists for diesel-burning cars – despite their superior fuel economy and cleaner burn.

Diesel buyers could certainly use the break; the components in a diesel car can add $9,000 to the purchase price. The costliness of diesel cars has made them especially unattractive to North American buyers, even in the best economic situations. This, combined with the perceived unattractiveness of the fuel itself makes the situation nearly hopeless in this market. But Audi has released a new slogan in an effort to change this image. Diesel. It’s no longer a dirty word.