Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda announced this morning in Washington D.C. that the Chrysler Group is committed to selling 250,000 flexible fuel vehicles in 2007 and about a half-million in 2008, including both retail and fleet sales. Starting in the 2007 model year, the Chrysler Group will expand its flexible fuel offerings to the Jeep Grand Cherokee , Commander, and Dodge Dakota pickup truck. LaSorda said flex-fuel vehicles will help Americans “get away from from foreign oil.” In his prepared remarks, LaSorda told the group, “Imagine, if all of those vehicles were operated on E85 instead of gasoline, 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 “we’re in the lead,” referring to the ethanol push by Detroit automakers Chrysler , Ford , and GM.
LaSorda said the E85 strategy is not in reaction to high gas prices. “This is a long term policy. We made the decision over a year ago without the high gas prices,” he said. Ethanol is “something consumers, the country, and businesses are going to migrate to,” he continued.
Referring to foreign oil, LaSorda said, “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.”
He said the key is to provide consumers with the vehicles and create the infrastructure for E85 to be a success. Currently, there are only six E85 pumps in Michigan, meaning most consumers don’t have access to Ethanol fuel.
