Monday, October 31, 2005

Volkswagen to Dump Pumpe-Düse

Text from Automotive News Europe.
Volkswagen's Pumpe-Düse diesel technology, hailed as a revolutionary technology when it was introduced in 1998, will be abandoned when the company starts producing a new range of diesel engines in 2007. The PD system was intended to make diesels more powerful, more efficient and quieter, but it no longer has a technological benefit over common-rail technology and is also more expensive to produce. Furthermore, it is proving to be very difficult to adapt PD to work with particulate filters, which are required to meet future EU emission regulations.

Volkswagen already uses common-rail on its six- and eight-cylinder diesels, and will do the same for the new generation of three- and four-cylinder units. With this in mind, it now seems strange that Volkswagen and Siemens VDO Automotive opened a €240 million joint venture plant specifically to produce PD injectors, but sources say that it could be used to produce other parts - perhaps including common-rail system components.