Supplies of profitable diesel Silverado and Sierra threatened by gap in production
Supplies of the profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra diesel pickups are being threatened by a 4 ½-month pause in production of the Duramax diesel engine. GM is going to stop building the current version of the Duramax in mid-December to retool for production of the re-engineered 2010 Duramax in late April.
Analysts predict that sales will start to recover while the Duramax engine plant in Moraine, Ohio, is down. If that’s not bad enough, GM’s pickup inventory is already lean, reports Automotive News. Many dealers are worried that they may run out of the diesel-powered Silverado and Sierra pickups because of the gap in production.
“We got a notice yesterday that starting immediately, we can no longer order the Duramax regular cab,” said Scott Brasher, general manager of Brasher Motor Co. in Weimar, Texas, near Houston.
The reengineered engine will add a system to inject urea into the exhaust periodically, reducing oxides of nitrogen. It will also add low-fluid alerts to let drivers know when to refill the urea tank.
– By: Omar Rana
