Thanks to clean diesel technology and the need to improve fuel mileage, diesels are being seen in a different light. SEMA’s 2004/2005 Diesel Market Study predicted that due to the need for greater fuel mileage, diesel market share would increase to 15% by 2014. Bosch, a major supplier within the diesel automotive industry, estimates that the North American market for light-diesel vehicles will reach 15% of new-vehicle sales by 2015.
When consumers understand the advantages of today's clean diesel power, it turns conventional thinking about diesel on its head, says Gale Banks, CEO of Gale Banks Engineering. Banks is also a major player in the fight against diesels that don't burn all of their fuel in the combustion process. When a truck doesn't burn all the fuel, the result is a large amount of black smoke that comes from the tailpipe. This is usually a result of trying to increase power output without proper research and development. Consumers who do this reaffirm the idea that diesels are not a clean alternative to gasoline fuel.
"With clean diesel power, drivers can have approximately 30% better fuel economy and 50% more torque, as well as reduce emissions by up to 25%, when compared to gasoline-powered passenger car engines," Banks explains. "With clean diesel, no longer are fuel economy and performance mutually exclusive."
SEMA continues in its quest to assist manufacturers of diesel performance parts in seeking regulatory compliance for these type of products, as it does for those producing emissions-related components for gasoline-fueled vehicles.
For more original SEMA market research, visit www.sema.org/research.