Oil Lamp: Diesel Volkswagens Prove a Hot Sell in April, Boost Company's Fortunes

Despite having the worst public image since the Ford Pinto or Chevrolet Vega, Volkswagen’s sidelined 2015 2.0-liter diesel models flew off lots after being approved for sale in mid-April.

A crop of about 11,000 unsold TDIs loitered on dealer lots around the U.S. after being banned from sale by the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2015. In a weak month that saw numerous automakers sink on the sales charts, Volkswagen was a bright light, posting a 1.6-percent increase over April 2016. Much of that success came from still-polluting diesels.

So much for stigma.

While VW hasn’t offered up a fix for older diesels, 2015 models equipped with an updated version of the automaker’s 2.0-liter TDI engine gained approval for a two-phase fix last month. The first phase — a software update — made the approval possible. All affected 2015 vehicles are required to return for a more complicated fix when it becomes available.

Much of the nearly half-million affected 2.0-liter TDIs are bound for the graveyard. Still, the EPA’s approval of a Generation 3 engine fix means 67,000 of those vehicles could stay on the road, while an even smaller number could generate revenue for VW.

Of the 27,557 VW-badged vehicles sold in the U.S. last month, 3,196 were 2015 diesel models. The automaker made sure the vehicles were heavily marked down, and it seems money talks. Diesel isn’t dead in America, and many buyers who still carry a flame for the torquey little German cars jumped at the chance to snap up what could be the last small VW diesels offered in the U.S.

The automaker has assured buyers of “new” vehicles and existing owners who shunned buyback offers that the fix won’t negatively impact performance or fuel economy. VW’s promise came after European owners of older models said their cars turned into shuddering dogs post-fix.

[Source: Reuters] [Image: Volkswagen USA]