Hybrid and Diesel Sales to Jump

A new report from JD Powers states that hybrid and diesel vehicles will capture 11 percent of sales in the US by 2012. A measly share or perhaps just a conservative estimate, given the current climate ... with pundits predicting the imminent arrival of $3 per gallon gasoline.

But it's not the hybrid gas/electric cars that will grab the lions share of the rise, they say. According to the report, diesel vehicles are expected to garner a 7.5 percent market share by 2012, up from a current 3 percent. Hybrids sales are seen rising from 0.5 to 3.5 percent of the market, over the term.

Consumers should expect a wealth of models. According to the report, the number of hybrid electric models will skyrocket from a current 10 all the way up to a whopping 44 in 2012. The number of diesel models, on the other hand, is expected to grow a relatively modest amount ... from 14 to 26.

One potential roadblock: diesels have a stinky and noisy reputation to overcome. New EPA regulations that slash NOx emission standards will thankfully come into play in 2007/2008, along with low-sulphur fuel. "Outside of meeting future emission standards," said J.D. Power-LMC's senior manager of global power train forecasting, Anthony Pratt. "The biggest challenge for automakers concerning diesel technology will be convincing consumers that today's diesel engines have increased performance and run cleaner and quieter than previous-generation diesels."

Of course, you don't have to wait until then for a high-MPG vehicle.

I've done a bit of homework. Here's a list of 2005 models that score better than 30 MPG combined in EPA testing: