Audi Pushing Diesels Over Hybrids

Not only does Audi make the best diesel powered race cars, but they are also very adept at making great diesel powered sedans, coupés, and roadsters. They even make a diesel crossover (in Europe only), but the Q7 is outrageously hideous so I'll just pretend they never stooped so low.

What Audi doesn't make is a hybrid!

Why not?

According to Johan de Nysschen, the boss at Audi Of America, there just isn't really any point for the manufacturer, nor the consumer. Referring to the previously mentioned abomination... er, Q7... he wants to delay the launch of a hybrid as long as possible - if not indefinitely - given today's currency exchange rate and the low projected volumes for the vehicle.

"The price premium of the hybrid under these conditions would negate the savings to consumers, as well as eliminating any profit margin for the automaker."

No surprise there. Nor am I the only person to point out that a hybrid doesn't really save you much coin. They're really nothing more than a high-priced fashion statement.

But I digress...

Back to de Nysschen:

“I'm not pushing engineering to hurry up. We don't need hybrids for all segments for Audi in the U.S.”

“I'd like to see hybrids pushed out two more years.”

Like the other major German carmakers, Audi sees diesels as a better option in the U.S. than hybrids. Given the fact that a hybrid only really shines in slow, stop-and-go city traffic, while a diesel can greatly outperform it on a highway at speed, it makes perfect sense.

(In any case, I believe that large SUVs and crossover should be banned from city centers, or at the very least heavily taxed if they want to be driven downtown already. The last thing any downtown core needs is excessively large passenger vehicles occupied by a single passenger taking up far more room than they can possibly require!)

But I digress... again...

Unfortunately, Audi also recognizes the well-entrenched perception by North American consumers that hybrids are a better solution.

In Europe, diesels account for more than 50% of all new car sales across all the major brands. It's not just an econobox or delivery truck thing anymore for them. Prestige brands like Audi, BMW, & Mercedes all have significant diesel lineups. But in North America it's an uphill battle for them. The market here has been greenwashed into believing that hybrids are unbeatable when the fact is, they aren't. They're merely one way to cut fuel consumption... but by no means are they the only way.