Whilst many car makers overseas have moved away from diesel power for SUV’s and passenger cars due to ever tightening emission regulations Kia Australia has bunkered down declaring it will not abandon diesel on key model lines including Sportage, Sorento, Carnival and its soon to be launched Tasman ute. Last year diesel remained a healthy 86 percent of Sorento’s volume, 68 percent of the Carnival’s and 28 percent of Sportage deliveries. And despite all of the recent talk of emissions and new standards from next year the percentage of diesel sales has risen in the first quarter. Diesel has now jumped to 87 percent of Carnival’s sales while on Sportage is risen to 37 percent. Kia Australia suggests the choice of diesel here is elevated due to the limited supply of petrol and hybrid Sorento and Carnival models due to high demand for these fuel types in the U.S., Korea and the Middle East.

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