Volkswagen has long been a proponent of diesel engines and they are accelerating those efforts. Starting early in 2008 the company will launch new diesel engines in the US market using the CleanTDI branding. The first models available will be the Jetta Sportwagen and sedan which will be fifty-state legal and Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant. The new diesel four cylinder will have an output of 140hp and meet all the standards without urea injection. The Touareg will also get a CleanTDI V-6 but that one will require urea injection.

Overseas, VW has a range of TDI engines that already meet the 2009 Euro-5 emissions standards. The big Phaeton sedan gets a 233hp 3.0L V-6 while the new Tiguan crossover gets a pair of four cylinders with 140hp and 170hp. By next year, Volkswagen will have nine BlueMotion models in their lineup including six that will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

[Source: Volkswagen]

As we mentioned at the end of March, Volkswagen is moving forward with plans to make cars in China get better mileage. Here's a bit more on the effort, from Just Auto (subs req'd).

Most of the story is on VW's work on launching diesel engines in China within the next few years. VW predicts, through an internal study, that diesel cars will grow from five percent of the passenger cars in China in 2010 to about one third in 2020. That's a lot of oil burners. VW's China division will invest EUR500mn not only for the diesel engines but also for "environment-friendly engines and gearboxes." And don't forget China's biodiesel efforts.

This summer, VW will make more decisions on it's future strategy in China. More than 200,000 VW cars were sold in China in the first quarter of 2007.

Related:

• Volkswagen launches Chinese fuel economy initiative

[Source: Just Auto]