Tesla unveils new battery..., page-15

"Speaking to some golf diesel owners - some of the main reasons they bought their car was
1) Fuel economy = less $$$ to run.
2) Lower emissions than the petrol version.
3) Power and acceleration are not compromised & reliability"

And this is apparently why VW dodged the emission standard. Points one and three would have suffered in their Diesel engine had they delivered point two to the standard required by govt. Chances are that smart drivers will ask for a full engine swap out in any recall rather than have their diesel's tweaked to meet emission standards, while losing performance. But yes, it bodes well for the push towards EV's.