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- 29 Jul
Auto manufacturers using Diesel to help hit CAFE standards; Diesel growth to continue
For a while now we’ve been tracking the growth of the Diesel fuel market from the fuel demand perspective and the number of Diesel vehicles on the road.
CSP.net published an excellent article here discussing the opportunity for fuel retailers to take advantage of the growing Diesel market. While the current market share of Diesel vehicles is only about 1% of the U.S. vehicle market, or 3% when expanded to include vans and light-duty trucks, the Diesel Technology Forum reports the number of diesel registrations has increased 30% since 2010.
A big reason for this is that auto manufacturers are turning to Diesel to help them hit their CAFE target of 36.5 mpg for cars in 2016. Diesel provides roughly 30% better fuel mileage than gasoline, and it has a far superior infrastructure and consumer familiarity than electric or hydrogen vehicles.
From the fuel manager perspective, this makes for a compelling case to consider adding Diesel to the product portfolio in markets where it has the best growth opportunity. In areas where the competition isn’t yet carrying Diesel, providing Diesel as a portfolio differentiator may be one way to help bring up overall fuel margins. Have your field managers keep an eye on the vehicle demographics in their regions, both on the road and in the dealerships, to see if Diesel models are becoming more popular. Test the most promising markets and then strike in those areas where the iron is hot. You may find that your fuel volumes are shifting from gasoline to Diesel, with a net result of increased fuel volumes, and fuel margins, overall.
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