A run on diesels has come suddenly for Volkswagen.
The carmaker’s turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel cars are back on sale after being yanked from the US market 18 months ago, sparking a race among buyers still interested in the niche technology but faced with an extremely limited supply, The Australian reports.
VW dealerships were barred from selling their signature diesel cars after regulators found software the company designed to sidestep diesel emissions tests. Dealers recently received the green light from regulators to fix and sell the 12,000 new vehicles side-lined by the emissions scandal.
Amir Mahmoud, a 36-year-old sales manager at Caterpillar near Milwaukee, contacted about 30 stores nationally before finding a grey 2015 Passat TDI sedan at a dealership close to home. “I think it’s my last chance to get my hands on an unused one,” says Mahmoud, who has owned several Volkswagen diesel models.
Dealers sold about 3100 new diesel cars in April — their first month back on the market — leaving fewer than 9000 in stock, a Volkswagen of America spokeswoman says. A flood of used TDI cars should begin popping up in coming months as VW processes hundreds of thousands of buybacks that are offered under a $US10 billion ($13.4b) civil settlement in the wake of the scandal.
The German car giant has indicated it may not return to the US with diesel passenger cars, which never caught on with American drivers the way they did in Europe. General Motors and Volkswagen’s German rivals are among companies still offering diesel passenger-car options.
Diesel engines account for less than 1% of total car sales in the US.
Volkswagen was the leader in the segment until it admitted in 2015 that it equipped about 480,000 TDI Golfs, Jettas, Beetles and other cars dating back to the 2009 model year with so-called defeat devices that misrepresented the level of pollutants being spewed by the cars. VW pegged its US expansion strategy to the TDI engines for more than a decade.
Volkswagen remains committed to diesel in Europe and other markets. But the US withdrawal leaves behind a loyal following of TDI enthusiasts who are hooked on the combination of fuel economy, durability and peppy torque produced by a diesel in a small car.
Most of VW’s 650 US dealerships have been storing dozens of the 2015 cars in off-site lots. Some of the cars show signs of long exposure to the elements, including traces of moss on rubber sections and water spots on the paint finish.
At one VW dealership, pests chewed through the belly pans of dozens of TDI cars that had been stored off-site.
VW has been paying dealers to care for the stranded cars by starting them monthly and checking fluids and batteries.
