Now that Mercedes Benz has announced to pause its U.S. diesel plans we feel like country’s auto sales feel another blow. Daimler revealed that it had to obtain certification to sell 2017 diesel models in U.S. from U.S. environmental regulators, but it didn’t.
The outlook is now growing cloudier as scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency keeps models off the market and the costs rise to meet toughening pollution rules. Mercedes says that fewer than one out of every 100 cars sold in the U.S. is a diesel. Diesel’s future has been relegated back to what it was about 20 years ago -- an engine choice for pickup trucks. The future is not much brighter in Europe, where favorable tax treatment has helped the technology gain dominance. Diesel demand is projected to shrink to around 30 percent of the region’s auto sales by 2020 from around 50 percent today.
Worldwide, diesel market share is projected to fall to 4 percent by 2025 from 13.5 percent today. While diesels have long held a niche role in the U.S. auto market, it is fading fast. Just 28,604 diesels were sold in the U.S. this year through April, down 35 percent from the prior-year period. Automakers are also offering fewer diesel models in the U.S. than they were just two years ago, in large part due to growing demands from regulators.
