Ford diesel plan

FORD Australia has revealed that a diesel engine powering its Falcon sedan and Territory SUV will reach the market in 2010.

President Bill Osborne told GoAuto this week that the company will introduce the diesel powerplant for its locally produced models at the same time it replaces the Australian-made I6 petrol engine with the imported Duratec petrol V6.

Mr Osborne would not discuss which diesel engine Ford would source, but a strong favourite is a 2.7-litre V6 turbo-diesel developed by Peugeot/Citroen and currently used by Jaguar and Land Rover.

Even though these two companies have now been sold to the Tata group, it is understood that the rights to produce the engines remain with Ford Motor Company.

Mr Osborne is confident the diesel engine variants of the Falcon and Territory will sell strongly because Australian customers were open to diesel-powered passenger cars, pointing to the new Mondeo as an example.

“I do believe there is very good potential for a diesel in the Australian market,” he said. “We will certainly see how the market acceptance is.

“So far we have had great acceptance on the diesel Mondeo. Right now demand is outstripping our current supply, so we are quite bullish on diesels.”

Left: Ford's 2.7-litre turbo-diesel V6 in the Land Rover Discovery.

Mr Osborne said he felt that running cost advantages had originally drawn people to diesels, but added that modern diesels could now attract customers with their performance characteristics as well as economy.

“People have been flocking to diesel in Europe, but that is largely a result of some tax incentive structures which makes diesel much more affordable,” he said. “I do believe that, now that people have experienced a modern clean diesel, they actually prefer them to petrol.”

Currently, Ford Australia sells diesel versions of its Focus small car, Mondeo mid-sizer, Ranger ute and Transit van. After adding the Falcon and Territory to that list, Mr Osborne wants to widen the diesel spread even further.

“Our plans include the introduction of a range of diesels in a number of our products,” he said.

Mr Osborne would not discuss the price premium that would be attached to the diesel, but did express surprise that Holden charges just $1000 extra for the VM Motori diesel in its Captiva over the regular V6 petrol engine.

When asked whether Ford was tempted to go for a relatively cheap diesel engine for its locally produced models, Mr Osborne indicated it was not an option.

After stressing he was not talking about the Captiva diesel, which he had not yet driven, Mr Osborne said: “I don’t think good strategy is to go to market with a compromised vehicle. You may sell a guy one vehicle, but he’s not going to remain very loyal if he doesn’t enjoy his experience.”

The introduction of diesel could also open up export doors to Europe for both Falcon and Territory that may have currently been overlooked because of their large-displacement petrol engines.

“Diesel is not a particular barrier (in Europe) for us in the long-run,” said Mr Osborne.

It is not yet clear whether Ford will be the first brand to introduce an Australian-made vehicle with a diesel engine, although it is now the front-runner.

GoAuto understands Holden is currently working on fitting a diesel engine, most likely a VM Motori V6 turbo-diesel, but it is not clear whether the business case has been approved.

Toyota Australia is unlikely to be the first to offer a locally-produced car with a diesel engine as there is no such engine fitted to the Camry overseas and the company is also more focused on petrol-electric hybrids.

Mr Osborne said Ford Australia was also keen to continue offering an LPG-powered Falcon when the new V6 petrol engine was introduced.

He said no development work had been done in that regard, but was confident the American-sourced engine could easily be adapted to run on LPG.

E-Gas has recently accounted for up to 30 per cent of Falcon sales and around half of Falcon Ute sales.

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