Didn't somebody mention that TSi engines are in short supply for passenger cars so they've ceased fitting them in T6's to try and help with demand?
That was just someone's theory. My son in law is an Audi salesman and he says there has been a severe and worrying drop in demand for Audi and VW cars, both petrol and diesel, in the last 2 months. Him and his colleagues are starting to get edgy and putting feelers out elsewhere as they think job cuts are coming if this doesn't improve soon.
not my theory:
article from 01/08/18, sorry in French, but google translate should be able to help:
Essence ou diesel ? La question ne se pose plus pour le VW California | Fourgon & van
"Les constructeurs sont soumis à une pression très élevée, car ils doivent répondre au phénomène de balancier de la demande en faveur des motorisations essence dans toute l’Europe. En conséquence, ils privilégient les lignes de production des moteurs essence pour les voitures particulières"
essentially:
"demand on petrol engine makes VW concentrate petrol production for personal cars"
probably why also Porsche given up on diesel too
article from 01/08/18, sorry in French, but google translate should be able to help:
Essence ou diesel ? La question ne se pose plus pour le VW California | Fourgon & van
"Les constructeurs sont soumis à une pression très élevée, car ils doivent répondre au phénomène de balancier de la demande en faveur des motorisations essence dans toute l’Europe. En conséquence, ils privilégient les lignes de production des moteurs essence pour les voitures particulières"
essentially:
"demand on petrol engine makes VW concentrate petrol production for personal cars"
probably why also Porsche given up on diesel too
There's certainly some truth to that, the figures that I dug up on Google show VW and Audi up quite reasonably in August, only to tumble hugely in September for both brands and then Audi had another stinker in October while VW flatlined.
Although these figures vary wildly month to month, for instance in August VW sold the most passenger cars in the UK, but 8th in September and 2nd in October.
September to September, all car brands petrol sales down 6.7%, diesel sales down 42%
Petrol is massively back in favour it would appear.
it's funny, i thought i would never buy a diesel car. ever (the work of the devil to me)
i was about to buy a t6 petrol 4motion dsg.
not available in england but from France yes.
then they pulled it
so order a diesel 4 motion from UK 2 weeks ago lol
kind of make sense for a van, especially if you want some accessories like diesel heaters
they exist in petrol, but would you trust them 100%? (given how much more flammable petrol is)
i was about to buy a t6 petrol 4motion dsg.
not available in england but from France yes.
then they pulled it
so order a diesel 4 motion from UK 2 weeks ago lol
kind of make sense for a van, especially if you want some accessories like diesel heaters
they exist in petrol, but would you trust them 100%? (given how much more flammable petrol is)
I can only speak for that one dealer (who holds both franchises along with a couple more) but they're saying overall 20-30% down over same period last year! The salesmen get together to compare notes, and following leads it seems that people who have been loyal customers of each marque are deserting them, with Audi customers predominantly going to Mercedes and Range Rover, with the VW deserters a bit more random, but with significant numbers going to Kia and Hyundai. He has an interview with Mercedes next week.
We had one as a loan vehicle briefly at work. Chewed through £100 of fuel in 2 days that the normal 102 diesel would only use half that! TBH am not surprised it has been dropped. Can’t see how with fuel economy like that it can be sustainable 
Whilst our Vel is a BiTDI, we've just got a new car with a 2litre Turbo petrol with a manufactures map (polestar), and yep I had forgotten what fun petrols can be.My remapped DSG TSI puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it - that's enough justification in my book.
I do approx 300 miles per week and return around 33mpg (mostly motorway driving) so not all that bad tbh.
#Youonlyliveonce
I would guess very low in the UK; but remember things are moving against diesel very quickly (especially in Germany), and it was the lying sh1ts at VW Group that caused a lot of these issues globaly.
Factbox: German cities ban older diesel cars | Reuters
The catalyst for change to petrol being the diesel emissions scandal @Richard f
Or OPEC don't like vehicles getting more and more economical and want us back in petrol vehicles that use twice as much fuel. Just throwing that one in.
my view on this one is ALL manufacturers cheated. same on petrol too
VW got caught in the USA because Germany did something the USA didn't like, so they looked what they could do to hurt Germany
(since cars is one of their large visible export, and few american cars are diesels there except european imports)
(similar to the Chicken Tax of the 1960s why the US doesn't have transporter imported anymore)
Pollution got little to do with it.
Politicians wanting to virtue signal jumped on the bandwagon "look at me, i'm GREEEEN!!!" lol
This is both a good and a bad thing
I think diesel for private people only vehicles smaller than vans is an aberration
Petrol prices will go up as demand increase,
I doubt Diesel will prices will ever drop, but the pressure to increase it should diminish
in turn it should help the industry
VW got caught in the USA because Germany did something the USA didn't like, so they looked what they could do to hurt Germany
(since cars is one of their large visible export, and few american cars are diesels there except european imports)
(similar to the Chicken Tax of the 1960s why the US doesn't have transporter imported anymore)
Pollution got little to do with it.
Politicians wanting to virtue signal jumped on the bandwagon "look at me, i'm GREEEEN!!!" lol
This is both a good and a bad thing
I think diesel for private people only vehicles smaller than vans is an aberration
Petrol prices will go up as demand increase,
I doubt Diesel will prices will ever drop, but the pressure to increase it should diminish
in turn it should help the industry
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There is another factor too. VW are currently facing big fines again because they are looking like missing their CO2 target (remember that old enemy) from previous legislation. The swing from diesel to petrol is exacerbating this and it's in their interests to cut petrol sales and push more diesel vehicles, p&ssing into the prevailing wind. They really can't win, and it's their own fault.
I've been reading this also, It's a perfect storm for ICEngines. PHEV's are not helping either, apparently many people never plug them in, and they are often mated to petrol engines which have their own CO2 issues. I wonder if the CO2 issues are underlaying VW's current configs?
I can attest to this, my business partner has the Merc C class PHEV and is one of those who still has the charging cable still in its cellophane in the boot. The only reason people are getting these PHEVs is the extremely low company car tax, once that's withdrawn (and it's coming) sales of PHEVS will implode, which is likely to affect manufacturer's investment in the technology. There is no magic bullet at the moment, I think straight diesel, and even straight petrol, engines are going to be with us for a good few years yet.
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