Automotive Industry Trends
December 2004
Diesel gains ground as an environmental option
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Like the fairytale’s ugly duckling that eventually turned into a swan, diesel fuel has grown up to be a beauty that’s grabbing attention and garnering praise. This one-time stinker of the automotive fuel world is now earning recognition as an ecological hero. The reason? Clean diesel. It’s a pump-ready way to meet energy needs and address environmental challenges.
Actually, clean diesel technology is much more than what consumers get at the gas station. “It’s a combination of three things,” explains Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, an industry trade group formed in 2000. “Clean diesel refers to today’s lower-sulfur diesel fuel, advanced engine technology that burns more efficiently and cleanly, plus emissions treatment systems made up of filters and catalytic converters that scrub out trace emissions before they leave the tailpipe.”
This technology produces diesel vehicles that use 20 to 40 percent less fuel than vehicles with comparable gasoline engines. Today’s diesel vehicles are also much cleaner than their predecessors. According to the Diesel Technology Forum’s web site, today’s diesel engines produce 83 percent less particulate matter and 63 percent less nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions than diesel engines that were on the road in 1988. Standards for 2004 will cut NOx emissions in half, bringing the total decrease from 1988 to 88 percent less NOx spewing out of diesel vehicle tailpipes.
What’s more, diesel emissions will soon get more pristine. “Even minute amounts of sulfur in diesel fuel fouls the emissions-control technology that makes vehicles run cleaner,” says Charles Territo, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “For optimal performance, diesel vehicles require the cleaner diesel fuel that will be sold in the U.S. beginning in 2006.”
New fuel standards may be two years away, but new diesels are already in the works. “DaimlerChrysler has two new diesel engines planned for 2004 – the Jeep Liberty Diesel and the Mercedes Benz E320,” says Schaeffer. “I think the new engine technologies about to debut in the U.S. are evidence that manufacturers are bullish on diesel as a tool to address policy concerns with air quality and reliance on foreign oil.”
Catching the consumers’ eye
Car buyers are beginning to look more favorably at diesel, as well. When J.D. Power and Associates surveyed consumers on auto technologies and preferences earlier this year, diesel beat electric hybrids as the alternative technology of choice. Twenty-seven percent of survey respondents said they’d consider a diesel vehicle, while only 22 percent said they’d look at a hybrid.
Europeans might look at those survey results and say, “It’s about time.” In France, Belgium, Austria and Spain, over 40 percent of new passenger vehicles are diesel says the Diesel Technology Forum. Although there are plenty of alternative fuel technologies available – propane, natural gas, hydrogen and ethanol to name a few – consumers have easiest access to diesel.
EPA studies from 1998 estimate that one in three U.S. gas stations contains a diesel pump. “The infrastructure is in place to add more diesel fueling stations,” says Schaeffer. “Diesel uses the same underground storage tanks as gasoline, so you can literally convert a pump to diesel in as little as one day.” That’s not the case with fuels like compressed natural gas or hydrogen, which will require special storage adaptations. “What good is a vehicle that runs on a boutique fuel if you can’t fill up the tank?” asks Schaeffer.
Another plus for diesel technology is its availability. “Diesel passenger vehicles are market-ready now. They’re not just on the engineering drawing board,” Schaeffer notes. “If we want fuel efficient vehicles to reduce petroleum use and emissions, they’ve got to be available, affordable and appealing. When Americans learn to appreciate the combination of fuel efficiency and power diesel delivers, these vehicles are really going to find their market.”