The Chevrolet Volt has received a lot of press attention for the way General Motors marketed the new electric vehicle, but one competing automaker has said that the price and relative economy don’t match up against diesel-power used Audi cars in New York.

“No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla,” Johan de Nysschen, Audi of America president, told MSN Autos. “So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.”

He adds that while electric vehicles represent the future of the automotive industry, they are currently targeted at the “intellectual elite,” while clean diesel vehicles may already be able to offer improved fuel mileage compared to regular gasoline and reduce carbon emissions.

Mr. de Nysschen does have a vested interest in advocating diesel technology, as his Audi cars are available with engines that run on the alternative fuel, but other industry officials have also advocated the use of diesel-powered vehicles.

Although older Audis were not available in the U.S. with diesel engines, parent company Volkswagen has several models that use the engine, and buyers could be interested by used Volkswagen Jettas in New York.

The 2005 model can cost one-fourth the sticker price of a new Volt, and “with wholly predictable handling, it’s simply masterful through curves,” according to a Cars.com review.