Survey results show that 65% of American drivers would be in support of lawmakers’ efforts to make diesel more accessible to the American public; 66% of drivers think the government should offer a tax incentive on clean diesel vehicles.

Government has set very rigorous standards for future fuel economy, and we believe that clean diesel is perfectly positioned to help us achieve those goals. But, we argue that diesel needs an even playing field set by state and federal governments. Audi believes there are a variety of viable alternative fuel solutions, including electric, but diesel is readily available today. If you take away the disincentives that state and federal taxation policy create, we potentially could see a big uptick in clean diesel vehicles sales.

—Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America

A majority (57%) of American drivers feel the government has unfairly placed its bets in favor of hybrids and electrics over clean diesel vehicles, the survey also showed.

Certain states provide HOV access to hybrid vehicles, while no states provide HOV access to diesel vehicles. However, Audi points out, HOV lanes are made for long-distance driving, better suited to diesel vehicles.

Survey results also showed that 59% of 18-34 year old drivers said that if the cost of diesel fuel was on par with gasoline, they would purchase a diesel-powered vehicle. Conversely, only 39% of those 45+ said they would purchase a diesel car over a gas car if there was fuel price parity.

One of the reasons we are seeing this disparity between age groups may be because younger generations don’t have the same misconceptions about diesel as older generations. The objective is to reward efficiency, and diesel is an efficient alternative available today. We need to level the playing field.

—Scott Keogh

This online survey was not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.