The chairman of the Board of Management of the German automaker DaimlerChrysler, Dieter Zetsche delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Washington, D.C. Auto Show this week. While President Bush’s State of the Union address called for a sharp increase in fuel economy, Zetsche was emphasizing a long-established alternative - diesel power. VOA’s John Birchard reports.
Speaking to a gathering of auto industry representatives and reporters, Zetsche pointed out that roughly half of the new vehicles sold in Europe are driven by diesel engines. In the United States, diesel sales are in the low single digits. The reason? Energy policy. Europeans have chosen to place a high tax on gasoline and incentives on diesel fuel. Further, he said the Europeans pattern their emissions standards to accommodate diesel.