Audi Q7: To bring diesel to the US in 2008!

Wow! Great news. Audi is going to bring diesel cars to the US in 2008. First one is the Audi Q7!

Audi AG expects to sell its diesel-powered Q7 cross/utility vehicle in the U.S. by 2008, the auto maker says.

This move represents an aggressive powertrain-development push for Audi, which already has committed to a Q7 hybrid-electric vehicle launch in the same timeframe.

Critical to the diesel’s rollout is the development of an exhaust after-treatment system, Wolfgang Hatz, executive director-powertrain development, tells Ward's.

Audi engineers are about two years away from nailing an execution of after-treatment technology that, in concert with low-sulfur diesel fuels, will enable the European Q7’s 3.0L V-6 diesel to meet stringent U.S. federal emissions standards and, more importantly, those in California.

Thanks largely to exhaust gas re-circulation technology, the smooth-running engine already meets standards in 45 states, Hatz says. But the projected return on diesel-powered Q7 sales in those markets is insufficient to warrant a launch at this time.

“In the end, it has to be 50 states,” Hatz says, noting California accounts for 40% of Audi’s U.S. sales, the largest share of any market outside of Europe.

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi Q7

Source: Ward's Auto

Audi Q7: To bring diesel to the US in 2008!

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