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Originally Posted by roflwaffle
...but Ford would need to sell ~100k+ Fiesta diesels just to get prices down to where ~10k people would buy it.
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Ford already sell > 100K Fiesta Diesels in Europe at higher than US prices with the exchange rate between the Euro and the $ taken into account. The Fester also shares parts with other Ford models (the Focus) and some PSA (Peugeot / Citroen) models (engines for example) so the costs are reduced there.
I still believe Ford could do this if they chose to, as could GM with the Cruze Diesel. During the 70s Ford of Europe (FoE) profits kept Ford USA afloat for a good few years because they sold more cars at a higher profit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roflwaffle
Considering VW's diesel sales are only ~60k a year, and Ford's Fiesta sales are about the same IIRC,
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VAG (VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT) sell far more Diesel cars outside the US - the US market is a tiny part of the overall total.
TBH I think VAG no longer target the US as their main market - they are after the real no.1 market in the world which is China, as are a lot of other makers. Skoda is a big seller in China (as is PSA) and Africa as well as parts of Asia such as Australia. As an example see the VW TDI Improving thread which was run by a site in Australia - that car is a Skoda, which is a VW really but not one sold in the US and with an engine not sold in the US either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roflwaffle
I doubt they'll be able to sell enough diesels to compete with something like the Prius.
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This depends on the market. In the US the Prius is priced to compete with those models. In Europe the Prius struggles because Diesels are more common so it is priced as a niche product - roughly 2x the US price.
Full discolsure - I have a foot in both camps here - Mrs A is about to get a Prius company car and I am keeping my TDI.
