Following Honda’s announcement in Tokyo on Monday it would sell a 50-state-compliant diesel engine in the US from around 2009, Mercedes-Benz said it would offer similarly compliant versions of its M-, R- and GL-Class sport-utility vehicles with its ‘Bluetec’ technology diesel engines there in calendar year 2008.
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The Bluetec SUVs will be the world’s first diesel-powered vehicles to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent BIN5 emissions standards for all 50 US states, Mercedes said.
Honda has said only that it will bring its diesel cars to the US market “within three years” though US pundits believe it will have its 2.2-litre I4 turbodiesel engine ready for the 2009 model year, which could mean a launch as early as mid-2008.
Mercedes’ 2008 SUV engines will be more advanced than the BIN8-compliant (for the 45 states mandating the federal emission rules rather than the stricter standards imposed by California, New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont) Bluetec-powered E-class sedan the automaker is launching in the US next month.
Developed in-house by the automaker, Bluetec is the world’s cleanest diesel technology and showcases several state-of-the-art engine and exhaust technologies, Mercedes claimed.
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By GlobalDataHowever, US auto critics have already noted that the Bluetec technology requires the addition of urea solution injection to achieve the tough 50-state BIN5 emissions standards – to achieve a critical NOx reduction – and this adds to maintenance requirements as the tank must be topped up at regular intervals, expected to be about the same as US oil change intervals (usually shorter than those automakers recommend in Europe).
The Honda system announced on Monday, in contrast, uses a new catalytic converter technology to reduce the NOx emissions, without the use of urea injection.
According to Mercedes, the Bluetec-powered SUVs for launch in 2008 will showcase ‘AdBlue injection’, a process that adds precisely measured quantities of the urea-based solution into the exhaust stream to help reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80%.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant step for the future acceptance of diesel vehicles in the US market, which can contribute to significant fuel savings and a reduction in oil imports,” Mercedes’ US unit said in a statement.
“This fact was confirmed in a study by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2004. Margo Oge, head of its office of transportation and air quality, concluded that if only one-third of all light-duty trucks in the US were operated with modern diesel engines, the country would save 1.4m barrels of oil per day – equal to the amount of oil the US currently imports from Saudi Arabia.”
Mercedes claims the E320 Bluetec-powered sedan due out next month (for sale in 45 states and therefore only available to 40% of US buyers, according to Road & Track magazine’s website) uses a three-litre V6 turbodiesel to deliver the “the low fuel consumption of a four-cylinder compact combines with “the powerful torque of a large V8 engine”. It is currently the only diesel-powered vehicle sold in the US certified to the BIN8 standards.
In the BIN8-compliant E-class, an oxidation-type catalytic converter and particulate filter are combined with an improved, durable NOx trap system and an additional SCR catalytic converter.
The second Bluetec version planned for the 2008 SUVs is more efficient, according to Mercedes. AdBlue, a non-toxic aqueous solution, is injected into the exhaust-gas stream, causing ammonia to be released. In the downstream SCR catalytic converter the ammonia then converts up to 80% of the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water.
The specific vehicle concept and weight as well as the deNOx requirements determine which system is used. In principle, Bluetec is capable of meeting the world’s most stringent exhaust emission standards, Mercedes said.
Graeme Roberts
