KEY POINTS:
Ford Australia is understood to have shelved plans to introduce a diesel-powered Falcon in 2010, instead opting for a new LPG engine that it expects will account for 40 per cent of sales across the Tasman.
But the carmaker will proceed with a diesel option for its
lifestyle Territory range.
Outgoing company president Bill Osbourne told Australian motoring website GoAuto a dedicated LPG version of its new V6 engine would be ready in mid-2010.
"We are thinking LPG will account for 35 to 40 per cent of our share," he said.
"We are positioning Falcon with some new powertrain technologies that will be the lead powertrains. The lead fuel economy option for the Territory will be the diesel."
The new V6 will be sourced from the United States and reworked to run on LPG at Ford Australia's plant in Geelong. The petrol version will be the mainstream Falcon engine.
The V6 replaces the ageing inline 4-litre straight six engine, which won't meet Australia's emission standards from 2010.
Ford Australia is working on the new V6 petrol and LPG engines for the Falcon along with V6 petrol and diesel engines for the Territory. It is also believed to be preparing a new V8 unit.
Australian analysts say the crowded engine programme leaves little room for a diesel engine for the Falcon, especially with the arrival of an Australian-built Ford Focus in 2011 that will be exported to New Zealand.
Says Osbourne: "At that point it becomes a question of complexity because Focus will probably have three powertrain options. So at some point there is a limit to how many engine codes you can put in the plant."
Ford is the only Australian carmaker with a dedicated LPG engine, although Holden has said it is developing a gas-powered V6 unit for the Commodore range.
Ford's LPG engine programme fits with technology that analysts say will further improve the fuel economy and exhaust emissions of LPG-powered cars.
Known as LPG liquid injection, the technology is said to produce fuel economy for LPG cars similar to the petrol equivalent for the same car.
It is a sequential common rail injection system which injects the gas under pressure into the inlet manifold. The exhaust emissions are also said to be significantly better than petrol or diesel vehicles because using liquid injection creates a much more complete fuel burn than using LPG vapour.
The imported liquid injection system JTG - Just Think Green - is being optimised for LPG-powered engines by its Melbourne-based distributor, Australian LPG Warehouse.
The e-Gas LPG Falcon uses a vapour injection system which turns the liquefied gas to vapour before injecting it into the intake manifold.
But the JTG system takes the liquid right up to the injectors which produce a droplet of LPG liquid into the intake manifold just as the engine is sucking in the air-fuel mix. The result, says the distributor, gives an LPG-powered car more power but similar fuel economy to petrol.
The price of LPG in Australia is about A65c (80c), about A80c a litre less than petrol. LPG in New Zealand is about $1.25, roughly 75c less than 91 octane.
Ford NZ is watching development of the new LPG Falcon engine and can be expected to push sales here, if there is demand for the vehicle. The big car may not be dead yet.
