Volkswagen has a major success on its hands in the form of the latest Jetta TDI. Not only has the fuel efficient machine managed to take home nearly every green car award known to man, it’s also been selling in numbers well over its initial sales goals. When the German automaker launched the diesel sedan, it had estimated that about 20 percent of all units sold would be equipped with an oil-burning engine. In reality, about half of all wagons sold have the TDI engine and about 30 percent of sedans are so equipped.

For this reason, VW is now expecting that 30 percent of all 2010 Golf hatchbacks will be sold with the automaker’s 2.0L turbocharged diesel engine when it goes on sale in the US later this year. Interestingly, fellow German automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have not seen this kind of success with their latest diesel engines. We imagine that the low price of the Jetta TDI, in comparison to its gasoline-powered siblings, may have plenty to do with its strong sales numbers.

[Source: Automotive News]