Volvo S80 Gets New Diesel - But It's Not Slated for U.S. Market

"[The] rest of the world gets priority as they are already marketing diesel units," wrote Dan Johnston, Volvo Cars North America spokesman, in response to an e-mail query. "The issue here is limited market potential, along with having to support small volumes for parts and technical support at VCNA and at retailers."

Johnston continued: "Not to mention we'd need special emissions and fuel systems for [the] U.S. Of course, they run forever without anyone having to get their fingers dirty, but if they do break down, we would need national dealer support. That said, in about three years we'll be offering electric systems, like C30 and other platforms. So for [the] U.S., we're in transition to electric."

For other markets, Volvo's new D5 engine with sequential twin turbochargers for the Volvo S80 delivers 205 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. "Volvo's engineers have succeeded in cutting fuel consumption to record low levels for a car of this size — 6.2 liters/100 km [37.9 mpg]," the automaker said in a statement.

Inside Line says: Once again, Volvo reiterates that it has no diesels planned for the U.S. but says it's working hard on electric vehicles. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent