diesel cars in decline...

[.FoMoCo.]

Diesel cars in decline:

From drive today...

THE rise of diesel-powered passenger cars in Australia is coming to an end. Between 2005 and 2010, sales of diesel cars morethan quadrupled as buyers were attracted by the lower fuel use and better performance offered by oil-burning engines. Luxury diesel-powered cars from Europe also became popular because their low fuel use meant owners could dodge the government's luxury-car tax. Any car that uses no more than 7.0 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres is exempt from the tax, which applies at a rate of 33 per cent on the proportion of a car's cost above the $57,466 threshold. But now turbocharged petrol engines are dipping below the magic fuel-use number, making them more attractive to luxury-car buyers. Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have all embraced turbocharging as a method of downsizing engines while maintaining performance. Last year, private sales of diesel-powered cars dipped by more than 10 per cent. BMW says it expects sales of diesel-powered versions of its new 3-Series sedan to decline as more people are drawn to turbocharged petrol engines. Until recently, diesel engines have typically delivered substantially more torque than similar-sized petrol engines, which translates to better in-gear performance. They are also more fuel efficient. But the latest turbo-petrol engines now offer better off-the-line performance, while narrowing the gap on fuel efficiency. The move back to petrol at BMW reflects a similar trend at Mercedes-Benz, where diesel sales of its top-selling C-Class sedan declined once it introduced turbocharged petrol engines that more closely matched the performance and fuel economy of the diesels. Prior to the arrival of the latest C-Class, the number of diesel C-Class vehicles sold climbed from virtually nothing to almost 30 per cent of total sales. They are now believed to have dropped back to a little more than 10 per cent.
BMW product and market planning manager Toni Andreevski says he expects a similar drift away from diesel now BMW has two turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines that are more powerful and use less than 7.0L/100km. ''The performance improvement from the direct-injection turbo engines might sway more people back to the petrol,'' he says. He says the previous 3-Series model saw more than a third of buyers opting for a diesel engine. But despite the introduction of a new, cheaper diesel model in the latest generation, Andreevski expects a decline. In response to the trend, the company has dropped its most expensive diesel model, the 330d. It has also dropped the 123d twin-turbo diesel model from the 1-Series range. One of the key attractions of the more economical turbo-petrol engines is that luxury car buyers pay less for any options they want on their car because the luxury car tax doesn't apply.

Does this mean ford has got it right with ecoboost for the falcon and not going the diesel route?