DaimlerChrysler will begin the New Year with a pioneering group-wide initiative for advanced clean diesel powertrains to be launched at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The technology called Bluetec will be capable of producing the cleanest diesel vehicles in the world. The company will present vehicles featuring Bluetec at the Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler Group stands, highlighting a bright future for diesel-powered automobiles around the world. Bluetec offers diesel passenger cars the potential to meet the most stringent emissions regulations worldwide and be approved for sale in all 50 U.S. states. This will enable advanced diesel engines to develop their full potential for reducing fuel consumption and help to reduce emissions in the U.S. as well. The display vehicles include the Mercedes-Benz E 320 Bluetec, Mercedes-Benz GL 320 Bluetec, and the Concept Car Jeep Grand Cherokee Bluetec.

“Bluetec is the new blueprint for the cleanest diesels in the world,� says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of DaimlerChrysler and Head of the Mercedes Car Group. “And while Bluetec was developed by Mercedes-Benz, it won’t be exclusive to Mercedes-Benz. Of course, we’ll share this technology with the Chrysler Group.�

The Bluetec vehicles that DaimlerChrysler will be showcasing in Detroit – the Mercedes-Benz E 320 Bluetec, the Vision Mercedes-Benz GL 320 Bluetec, and the Concept Car Jeep Grand Cherokee Bluetec – are capable of being the most fuel-efficient and cleanest diesel passenger vehicles in their segments in the U.S. Bluetec can only achieve its full effect in passenger cars when it is used with diesel fuel that has a sulfur content of less than 15 ppm. Such fuel will further reduce the emissions of diesel vehicles already on the market in the U.S. This low-sulfur diesel has already been intro-duced throughout Europe and is expected to become available in the U.S. in the fall of 2006.

DaimlerChrysler’s first Bluetec passenger car will be the Mercedes-Benz E 320 Bluetec, which will be launched in the U.S. next fall.

Mercedes-Benz trucks are already available with Bluetec diesel technology as standard. Around 9,500 Mercedes-Benz trucks equipped with the innovative exhaust-gas technology were delivered to customers in 2005. This means that more than 98 percent of all truck cus-tomers have opted for vehicles that already fulfill the stringent Euro 5 emissions standard.

Bluetec is a combination of technologies for passenger cars and light trucks to reduce all relevant emission components. The system for passenger cars includes an oxidizing catalytic converter and a diesel particulate filter, as well as innovative systems for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. Whether a combination of Denox and a Bluetec catalytic converter, or AdBlue injection with a Bluetec catalytic converter is used will depend on the individual design concept of the vehicle. Regardless of which technical solution is used, Bluetec makes diesel vehicles in every class the cleanest diesels in the world. Bluetec diesel technology for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles combines highly efficient engines with an exhaust gas treatment system based on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology. With SCR technology, nitrogen oxides are converted into harmless nitrogen and water vapor by adding ammonia as a reducing agent in a catalytic converter.

With Bluetec, DaimlerChrysler greatly improves the potential of advanced diesel engines within the framework of its “Energy for the Future� initiative, which describes the company’s strategy for ensuring sustainable mobility in the future. An additional element of this initiative is DaimlerChrysler’s ongoing effort to further optimize gasoline engines, as well as the company’s commitment to improving the quality of conventional fuels and promoting the use of synthetic fuels. Further elements of the initiative include the development and introduction of hybrid drive systems and fuel cell technology.

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