WASHINGTON – Recent news reports of investigations and enforcement against automakers for violating emissions regulations for diesel engines have led many to pronounce the death of the technology. But so far at this year’s auto shows across the country, the Fuels Institute has seen new diesel models from automakers such as Jaguar, Mercedes, General Motors and Range Rover.

As U.S. automakers have begun ramping up production of diesel engines, fuel retailers also recognize the growing demand for diesel and have made it much more available to the consumer.

Diesel-powered vehicles, despite recent violations, are much cleaner than ever before and present opportunities for automakers to satisfy their fuel efficiency requirements. Since the mid-90s, the EPA has been regulating compression ignition engines to control polluting emissions from diesel fuel. In particular, regulations are geared at reducing soot or particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and air toxins. The regulations have been phased in over several increasingly stringent tiers, with the latest tier, Tier 3, going into effect in 2017.

As a result, today’s diesel engines are quieter, more efficient and much cleaner than in the past. Because diesel fuel provides the specifications car manufacturers need to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards—diesel cars can travel up to 700 miles between refueling and can get more than 20% more miles per gallon than gasoline equivalents—automakers continue to look at producing light duty passenger vehicles with diesel engines. 

Further, a recent Fuels Institute consumer survey indicates that recent headlines have not dissuaded consumers from considering diesel—less than 10% of those who say that would not consider a diesel-powered vehicle sited emissions violations as the reason for their position.

Check out the Fuels Institute on site at a recent auto show to learn more about this growing trend.