Michigan Research: Diesel Saves Money

John Davis

UMTRIA new study shows that vehicles that run on diesel save their owners money. While the research didn’t specifically mention biodiesel, the green fuel would also be part of that savings. Biodiesel Magazine reports the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute found that the total cost of ownership (TCO) is lower for diesel vehicles compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts.

“Our results show that clean diesel vehicles generally provide a return on investment in both the three- and five-year timeframes, though there are differences in the amounts of return among mass market vehicles, medium duty trucks, and luxury vehicles,” authors Bruce M. Belzowski and Paul Green, assistant research scientists with UMTRI, state in their report. “The estimates of savings for three and five years of ownership vary from a low of $67 in three years to a high of $15,619 in five years, but most of the savings are in the $2,000 to $6,000 range, which also include the extra cost that is usually added to the diesel version of a vehicle.”

The report concludes that diesel vehicles can and do compete well in the U.S. market and are at an advantage when fuel economy regulations for 2016 and 2025 are considered.

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