Increasing interest in diesel engines in the US could impact on the demand for platinum.

According to executives from automobile components supplier Robert Bosch, US consumers are becoming much more interested in diesel-powered vehicles, which use predominantly platinum catalysts.

In an interview with Ward's, Lars Ullrich, director of marketing diesel systems at Bosch, said diesel cars are no longer associated with a lack of speed, too much noise and an unattractive smell.

Instead, consumers in the US are now focusing on the impressive fuel consumption of diesel vehicles.

As an illustration of this, Mr Ullrich said Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer had been surprised to hear that the Volkswagen Golf TDI could travel 700 miles on one tank of fuel at last month's Washington Auto Show.

Other people at the show, Mr Ullrich told the news provider, were also "amazed" by how clean the cars are, how quiet they are and how far they go on a single tank.

However, Johannes-Joerg Rueger, head of North American diesel operations at Bosch, believes the current way of boosting demand for diesel vehicles in the US - through the use of tax breaks - is unsustainable.

"You can do some stimulation with tax incentives for a few thousand (units), but you can't do that for a million, for the whole market," he told the same publication.

That said, Mr Rueger is not looking for diesel solutions to be given an unfair advantage over consumers.

"From our perspective the technology that is most efficient and is best for the individual consumer will be chosen by the individual consumer," he confirmed.

Indeed, he noted that in some respects diesel technology is not being given the same support as other substitutes for petrol.

Specifically, diesel power was largely ignored by the $25 billion loan programme included in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which looked to boost the viability of alternative fuels.

A study conducted by CNW Research recently showed that consideration for diesel engines among new car buyers in the US had risen from 10.6 per cent in October 2005 to 21.5 per cent in December 2009, with a peak of 23.7 per cent enjoyed in August 2008 on the back of record petrol prices.

Source:

Diesels Turning Heads in Showrooms, Halls of Congress, Bosch Says (18/02/10)

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