New
York, N.Y. - The United States could reduce
its oil use by approximately 800 million gallons and carbon
dioxide emissions by 8 million tons annually, if Americans
purchased diesels at the same rate as Europeans, Dieter
Zetsche, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler
Group, said today. To encourage American acceptance of diesels,
Zetsche announced that Chrysler Group will test the North
American market with a diesel-powered Jeep®
Liberty vehicle beginning in 2004.
At the DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium
in New York, Zetsche also called on regulators and oil refiners
to work together to resolve diesel emissions challenges
that will be tested by new tailpipe standards that will
go into effect in 2006. "The best way to show our
commitment to work together is to bring a modern, clean
diesel passenger vehicle to market, which we intend to do,"
Zetsche said. "We would like to see the oil refiners
commit to producing and distributing high quality, low-sulfur
fuel as soon as possible, while the government creates incentives
for fuel producers to get clean diesel fuel to the market
before the deadline."
While DaimlerChrysler offers a range of
diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Europe, where approximately
35 percent of vehicles are powered by diesel engines, the
Jeep Liberty will be the first light-duty sport-utility
vehicle with a diesel powertrain to go on sale in the United
States and Canada.
"Today's modern diesel vehicles
should be part of the solution to improving fuel efficiency
and reducing carbon dioxide emissions," Zetsche
said. "Diesels lead to up to a 30 percent improvement
in fuel economy, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions
an average of 20 percent. "While there are legitimate
concerns about the particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) exhaust from diesels, the introduction of high quality,
low-sulfur diesel fuel will enable a reduction of these
emissions," added Zetsche.
Zetsche said that, on average, diesel fuel
offered in Europe is six times cleaner than that offered
in the U.S., due to a much lower sulfur content extracted
during the refining process. The diesel Jeep Liberty will
be powered by a 2.8-liter common rail turbo-diesel engine
produced by DaimlerChrysler. It will be available with a
manual or automatic transmission, as well as two- or four-wheel
drive. It is expected that the diesel-powered Liberty will
have up to a 30 percent improvement in fuel economy, versus
a comparable gasoline-powered Liberty. DaimlerChrysler currently
offers diesel engines in its Dodge Ram heavy-duty trucks
in North America. Approximately 75 percent of all Dodge
Ram 2500/3500s sold in North America are powered by diesel
engines.
But diesel acceptance as the fuel of choice
in high-volume passenger vehicles in North America has been
another matter, thanks in large part to some ill-fated attempts
in the 1980s to introduce diesels here. "The technology
of the time left a bad taste in the mouths of many,"
Zetsche said, "and a lot of bad memories of smokey,
smelly, clattertrap cars. "But today's clean diesels
are surprisingly refined and comparable, category for category,
to gasoline-powered vehicles."
Around the world, the Chrysler Group currently
offers diesel powertrain options in the Jeep Cherokee (Liberty
in North America), Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler PT Cruiser
and Chrysler Voyager minivans. In Western Europe, diesel-powered
vehicles comprise 56 percent of Chrysler Group's total sales
volume.
Jeep Cherokee vehicles with diesel powertrains
currently account for 65 percent of that model's total sales
in Western Europe.