We know that MINI USA is very interested in getting diesels in the US market. The roadblock has always been cost. That roadblock may be slowly eroding away. Recently we reported that MINI’s US diesel plans are back on the table. Based on sources this is due to several reasons. For one the lowering cost of diesel fuel has helped tremendously. Secondly the sharing of BMW’s 2.0L diesel engine (currently powering the 1 and 3 series outside the US) that is destined for the update R55 and R56 platform could help the cause as well. If BMW federalizes the engine for use in 1 and 3 series in the US (not that unlikely since the passing of the EPA’s new efficiency mandate), MINI’s costs for using the power-plant go down considerably.
Now comes potentially another reason for MINI USA to push the diesel option. VW is reporting that over 36% of all Jetta sales in May were diesel. That’s almost 4,000 diesel cars sold in one month alone. Not impressive in Europe but quite eye-opening for the US market.
