New drive and vehicle concepts

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Internal combustion engines

Gasoline and diesel engines with savings potential. DaimlerChrysler still sees considerable potential in optimizing current internal combustion engines. The objective is to make gasoline engines as efficient as diesel engines, and diesel engines as clean as gasoline engines. After the introduction of the particulate filter, the task at hand is now to further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions without sacrificing the fuel efficiency and economy of diesel engines.

Thanks to innovative modular BLUETEC technology, diesel vehicles from DaimlerChrysler will be the cleanest diesel vehicles in the world. In gasoline engines, the roll-out of spray-guided gasoline direct injection of the second generation will also lead to significant increases in fuel economy.

Natural gas engines as a viable supplementary alternative. Natural gas is considered a sensible alternative to gasoline and diesel for specific applications (e.g. inner-city transport) on account of its low emissions of CO2 (which match those of diesel fuel) and other pollutants. However, the use of natural gas is limited by the relatively short range of the vehicles and the tanks’ greater space requirements. Large numbers of natural gas-powered buses manufactured by Mercedes-Benz (Citaro CNG) and Fuso (Aero Star CNG) are in operation today. The Econic NGT refuse collection vehicle fulfills the strict EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) emissions standard, which exceeds even the Euro 5 limits. The E-Class E 200 NGT is also in demand. Starting in 2008, the B-Class will be available on the market as a natural gas-powered variant. In the U.S., the Orion and Thomas Built Buses brands offer a number of buses with natural gas propulsion systems, while on the truck front, Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star have several natural gas trucks in their product portfolios.

Flexible fuel vehicles. Since 1998 DaimlerChrysler has sold nearly 1.5 million flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the U.S. These vehicles can run on E85 fuel, which is made up of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent conventional gasoline.

In line with the political target of reducing the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, the Group is planning to enlarge its FFV program. In 2007 approximately 250,000 FFV vehicles are scheduled to be manufactured for the North American market. DaimlerChrysler will decide whether to launch FFV vehicles in Europe on the basis of factors that include the amounts of bioethanol that will be available. The amounts of biofuel available now and in the near future should thus ideally be absorbed by the market in combination with conventional gasoline, without the need for a separate biofuel infrastructure. DaimlerChrysler is therefore committed to creating the technologies that will ensure that vehicles can run on fuels with up to 10 percent admixtures of biofuels.

Hybrid drive systems

Hybrid drive systems can demonstrate their superior fuel efficiency in everyday use, above all in city traffic. Urban buses with hybrid drive are more environmentally friendly, and if they are equipped with a storage battery they even operate emission-free over short stretches. In 2006, 420 units of the Orion VII Hybrid urban bus were once again ordered by local transport operators in New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Edmonton. DaimlerChrysler Buses therefore retained its title as the world’s biggest supplier of hybrid buses in 2006 – with a total of 1,500 orders filled since the start of deliveries in 2003.

Mitsubishi Fuso Aero low-floor hybrid buses are in regular service today in the Japanese cities of Shizuoka, Aichi and Gifu. The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid, the world’s cleanest lightweight truck, has been sold on the Japanese market since July 2006. Market launches in other countries are under consideration.

A Sprinter model with a “plug-in” hybrid drive is currently undergoing customer testing in Europe and the U.S. “Plug-in” means that the van’s batteries can also be recharged when the engine is switched off, for example at night, using a standard electrical outlet.

The hybrid drive may also prove to be a viable solution for heavy-duty commercial vehicles used for short-radius delivery. DaimlerChrysler’s development activities in this area focus on further reducing fuel consumption and drastically lowering emissions for vehicles that are used all over the world in inner-city areas with particularly limited access for traffic.

In order to exploit more effectively the advantages of innovative hybrid technology in passenger cars as well, three companies – DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and BMW – have pooled their technological expertise in a strategic alliance. The centerpiece of their joint development efforts is an electronically controlled transmission that connects an internal combustion engine and two electric motors with the drive module. The electronic control of the power flow between the drive systems and the wheels enables the vehicle to start up and accelerate dynamically (with high torque) but also to operate economically over long distances (on secondary roads and highways). DaimlerChrysler will market this two-mode system in the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen on the U.S. market starting in 2008.

In early March 2007, DaimlerChrysler and BMW decided to cooperate on the development of hybrid drive components for passenger cars with rear wheel drive. Plans call for these components to be launched in the near future, most probably in 2009. Start-stop systems are further options that are currently being explored for various DaimlerChrysler vehicles and prepared for market introduction. The Group will no longer produce new vehicles that cannot accommodate the hybrid option.

For DaimlerChrysler, hydrogen-operated fuel cell vehicles represent the third stage in its road map for emission-free mobility that helps preserve natural resources. Today, the current generation of hydrogen-powered vehicles – the A-Class F-Cell, the fuel cell Sprinters and the Citaro urban buses – is proving itself in a global testing program. With more than 100 fuel cell vehicles on the road worldwide, DaimlerChrysler operates the largest such fleet in the automotive industry. Every day, these vehicles deliver vital data that will flow into the development of the next generation of vehicles and future fleet testing. To create the next generation of fuel cell vehicles, DaimlerChrysler will equip B-Class models with fuel cell drives. However, an increase in production volumes beyond the minimum numbers necessary for technical refinements will only be feasible after considerable cost reductions have been achieved.

All automakers worldwide are setting out to achieve total sales of 100,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2015. Experts believe that by that time the technical problems will have been solved and the costs of the technology will have been significantly reduced.

 

 

 

Conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel will continue to be used in the years ahead, which is why they must be continually improved. The goal here is the worldwide use of sulfur-free fuel that contains low levels of aromatic compounds. DaimlerChrysler believes that natural gas is a viable option for certain applications, because it contains less carbon than gasoline and diesel. Beside BTL (biomass to liquid) fuels, GTL (gas to liquid) fuels are the cleanest and highest-quality fuels for diesel engines. This is because GTL diesel is free of sulfur and aromatic compounds – although not CO2-neutral – and can be adapted to meet many of the requirements associated with internal combustion engines. Bioethanol and biodiesel are intelligent options for the short to medium term when blended with conventional fossil fuels. However, crop-derived fuels have a lower energy content, so their fuel economy is not as favorable as that of fossil fuels; in addition, the aggressiveness and viscosity of biodiesel and the more pronounced clogging of the particle filter make its use in pure form prohibitive in modern diesel automobiles. BTL fuels made from biomass will soon grow in importance, initially as an admixture blended with gasoline and diesel fuel. The Group is currently working on ways to further the development and use of largely CO2-neutral synthetic bio fuels. These fuels represent the optimal use of biomass, contain no sulfur or aromatic compounds and can be excellently matched to the requirements of internal combustion engines. Hydrogen will be the energy source that powers the fuel cell vehicles of the future. However, some time will pass before these vehicles become a regular sight on the roads. Before this vision becomes a reality, it will also be necessary to supplement today’s hydrogen production from fossil energy media (e.g. natural gas) by developing suitable and efficient processes for deriving hydrogen from renewable sources and creating an extensive H2 supply infrastructure.