Volkswagen ends Bluetec diesel agreement with Mercedes

Volkswagen said today that it is ending its Bluetec diesel campaign agreement with Mercedes-Benz, effective immediately. Volkswagen has instead decided that it will bring its own diesel cars to the US next year with the ‘TDI’ branding.

In an interview with German Magazine, Wirtshatswoche, Volkswagen spokesman Hans-Gerd Bode, said the reason for the change was due to the strict US emissions regulations where Volkswagen currently has now offerings of diesel products on the market.

‘We will begin in 2008 to offer new diesel vehicles,’ he said.

The Volkswagen Jetta will be the first of the company”s lineup to get a clean diesel engine in 2008. The car will be shown in the fourth quarter of this year with production slatted for January of 2008. The new diesel will be 50-state compliant and will be badged as a TDI.

The Volkswagen Jetta Clean Diesel TDI will be powered by a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder diesel engine that produces 140 horsepower with 235 lb-ft of torque. Volkswagen is saying that the new new engine”s fuel economy and NVH will be significantly improved over the former 1.9-liter diesel engine.

Source: GermanCarBlog

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