The ownership cost of diesel cars has always been an unsolved question for many prospective buyers in the market. To bring the actual figures in light, a new comparison study in the US over difference between ownership cost of diesel and petrol cars reveals that diesel is more affordable in terms of ownership and results in marginal savings in a long running period of 3 to 5 years. The diesel part supremo, Robert Bosch LLC conducted the study in collaboration with Michigan Transportation Research Institute over total cost of ownership (TCO) and the results were recently declared at the 2013 Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Washington D.C.
The research study is not only based on running cost of fuel, but also includes extra purchase and maintenance cost incurred on diesel cars, depreciation, insurance, government taxes and resale value of car after a period of 3 to 5 years. The estimates are quite an eye-opener as savings on diesel car ownership vary between diminutive $67 to $15,619 US for 5 years (approximately Rs. 3975/- to Rs.9.30 lakhs). The normal savings for a period of 3 years hover between $2000 to $6000. The mid-size luxury Volkswagen Golf owners save $5,013, followed by the Jetta at $3,128 for a time period of 3 years.
The ownership of a Mercedes GL-Class in the luxury segment results in a surprising saving of $13,514, Volkswagen Touareg at $7,819, Mercedes-Benz R-Class at $5,951, Mercedes-Benz E-Class at $4,175 and M-Class at $3,063. The Mercedes GL-Class is the most profitable car in the test saving $15,619 in a time frame of 5 years. According to the results, the tested diesel cars score 8 to 44% higher fuel efficiency in comparison to petrol cars. Subsequently, 11 of every 12 test cars run on 10 to 29% less cost than petrol. The after-market value of diesel passenger vehicles also stood higher in both the 3 and 5 years time period comparisons.
The resale value of 11 diesel cars out of 12 is higher with at least 17% upto a maximum of 46% for a 3 years time frame, while 9 of 10 cars valued 10 to 39% more than petrol cars after an ownership period of 5 years. Although, the price of diesel is higher than petrol in the US but the marginal difference in fuel efficiency and resale value are developing the diesel car market in US at a rapid rate. The automakers are introducing their new diesel powered models and in the next two years diesel options will be more than twice the current offerings in the country.
