Daimler to push diesel sales in US By Bernard Simon in New York Published: March 24 2005 03:00 | Last updated: March 24 2005 03:00 DaimlerChrysler is mounting a fresh drive to gain wider acceptance for diesel-powered vehicles in North America. Citing a slew of improvements in diesel technology and its growing popularity in Europe, Thomas Weber, DaimlerChrysler's board member in charge of research and technology, said that it "should be possible" for diesel-powered vehicles to gain a 5-10 per cent market share in the US, compared with less than 3 per cent last year. "We are convinced that diesel has a huge potential in the US," Mr Weber said at the New York motor show where Mercedes Benz yesterday unveiled its R-class "sports tourer", one variant of which will be diesel powered. The diesel version will be available in 2006. Diesel vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-powered models. But their fuel consumption is typically between a quarter and a third lower. According to Mr Weber, diesel engines are "as powerful, sporty and quiet as gas engines", thanks partly to new fuel injection technology. Diesel vehicles make up 56 per cent of Mercedes Benz's European sales, up from 25 per cent eight years ago. Americans still tend to view diesel engines as noisy and underpowered, and only about a third of US filling stations have diesel pumps. General Motors and BMW pulled their diesel cars from the US market in the mid-1980s. "The biggest problem is the bad image," Mr Weber said. Demand has recently rebounded with the surge in fuel prices. More than a dozen diesel models are available, competing against an array of hybrid petrol-electric vehicles. Sales of diesel vehicles in the US jumped by 31 per cent between 2002 and 2004, totalling about 500,000 units last year. Mercedes has sold about 4,000 diesel C-class saloons since they were introduced six months ago. DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division has sold 25,000 diesel versions of the Jeep Liberty in less than a year. Mr Weber said DaimlerChrysler was talking to oil companies about making diesel fuel more widely available in the US. Mr Weber said the company planned to have at least one diesel vehicle standing in every US car dealership. BERNARD SIMON (C) Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2005. 'FT' and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times. Web Source: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/9554bb7e-9c0a-11d9-815d-00000e2511c8.html
