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Wired:
TMC President Katsuaki Watanabe Says No Diesel Hybrid Powertrain
for Tundra Pickup
By Mike LevinePosted:
03-05-08 17:29 PT
© 2008 PickupTruck.com
Page: [1]
Wired
Magazine is quoting Toyota Motor Corporation President
Katsuaki Watanabe as saying the company will not offer a diesel hybrid
version of the Tundra full-size pickup because the cost of pairing
a diesel engine with electric motors would make the truck "prohibitively
expensive".
These comments
echo an earlier statement from
General Motors' Gary White, vice president and
vehicle line executive for GM full-size trucks.
Mr. White
told PickupTruck.com in October 2007 that hybrids and diesels
are independently expensive powertrains to produce. Combining the two
would likely not yield high enough fuel economy improvements to make
it economically worthwhile to offer a diesel-electric hybrid
truck.
Interestingly,
Toyota's and GM's comments are contradicted by India's Mahindra & Mahindra,
which intends to sell a diesel hybrid version of its upcoming
Appalachian mid-size pickup in the United States by 2010.
Diesel engine
costs rose last year as new federal 'Tier 2 Bin 5' regulations required
the addition of diesel particulate filters to reduce soot emissions
by 90% from 2006 levels. 2008 model year Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups
saw their diesel hardware
costs rise by $1,500. Prices are expected to climb again in 2010
as Ford and GM add new equipment to scrub nitrogen oxide
(NOx) emissions. Chrysler's Cummins diesel powered Dodge Ram already
meets 2010 NOx levels.
Hybrid costs
can be attributed to expensive battery packs and electric motors
that need to be integrated with internal combustion engines.
In January
2008, during the Detroit Auto Show, Watanabe-san said the Tundra would
add a diesel engine option by 2010. We're expecting it will be a US
version of the 4.5-liter D-4D Hino diesel already offered overseas
in the new Toyota Land Cruiser, based on the Tundra's body-on-frame
platform.
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