Chrysler to Offer More Ethanol-Ready Vehicles
Date: 26-Apr-06
Country: US
Chrysler Group President and Chief Executive Tom LaSorda said in the text of a speech to be delivered Tuesday in Washington, D.C. that the car maker expected to sell about 250,000 flex-fuel vehicles next year and half a million by 2008.
Flex fuel vehicles can run on either gasoline or an ethanol-blended fuel, also known as E85.
Chrysler will begin offering flex-fuel versions of its Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Jeep Commander and the Dodge Dakota pickup truck, the company said.
Until now, Chrysler has offered versions of a number of vehicles that can also run on ethanol, including the Sebring sedan and the Dodge Ram pickup truck, but these have mostly been sold to commercial fleet operators.
The new flex-fuel models will also be sold through dealer showrooms, the company said.
LaSorda, who was scheduled to speak to a Renewable Fuels Association meeting also attended by President Bush, said Chrysler's production pledge would help reduce the US reliance on imported oil.
"Imagine if all those vehicles were operated on E85 instead of gasoline," LaSorda said in the text of his prepared remarks, which was released by Chrysler. "It would save 4.5 billion gallons of petroleum per year -- roughly one third the amount of oil we import from Iraq each year."
LaSorda said it would be important to build a network of gas stations that also supply ethanol. For example, he noted that in Chrysler's home state of Michigan there are only six ethanol pumps.
"Let's get the infrastructure in place -- the product's ready," he said in remarks released by Chrysler.
"There's a lot of tension in the Middle East and around the world on oil. Why don't we get away from it and grow our own crops, bring the family farmers back and build jobs and infrastructure for our own people."
Tracking the surge in global oil prices, US retail gas prices have gained almost a third over the past year and now top US$3 per gallon in some areas.
So far, industry analysts say the higher prices do not appear to have triggered sharply stronger sales of compact cars, hybrid vehicles or flex-fuel models, but many expect a steady increase in demand for those more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Ethanol is a form of alcohol produced from the fermentation of crops such as corn or sugar cane.
Backers point to its renewable quality as an advantage over petroleum and point to the success of a 30-year government program to develop and promote the fuel alternative in Brazil.
In January, Bush called for reducing the US dependence on imported oil by 75 percent by 2025 by increasing research into new fuels.