‘Diesel answer to N.Z.’s fuel problems’

Press, 23 October 1980, Page 11

‘Diesel answer to N.Z.’s fuel problems’

Diesel is the answer to New Zealand’s fuel problems, according to the director of Nissan Datsun Holdings, Mr W, Broadbent. “Diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than petrol and numerous examples support this,” Mr Broadbent told journalists at the Bluebird launch in Christchurch, citing the example of the taxi-driver who switched from an 18 m.p.g. petrol-engined Valiant to a 33 rnp.g. dieselengined Datsun 220 C. Nissan Datsun has just released a new series of high-performance, over-head-camshaft four and six-cylinder diesel engines which would help New Zealand cut its overseas fuel bills. “Nissan Motor, Distributors have made strong recommendations to the Government to consider offering incentives for the purchase of diesel cars, but we have had no encouragement,” said Mi; Broadbent. (This may be because of the diesel crisis of last year, when farmers, transport and bus operators were told to cut their use of the fuel, as supplies were becoming short, as they were likely to remain in the future). Datsun has also done its homework on the other alternative fuels — it has just finished developing conversion kits to enable cars to run on compressed natural gas and liquid pet-

roleum gas as well as petrol. These kits are designed specially for Datsun cars and Mr Broadbent said that Datsun’s New Zealand plant could quickly start assembling dual-fuel cars if there was the need. Cars which run on ethanol and a methanol-petrol blend are already being exported by Datsun to South America and the Japanese company is also well advanced on producing cars that run on alcohol and electricity. Mr Broadbent said Datsun has just expanded its assembly plants at Wiri and Otahuhu and this should end the frustrating, lengthy, waiting lists for Datsuns in New Zealand. Production at Wiri is up from 28 to 43 cars per day and the Otahuhu plant now produces 21 per day, up nine. In addition, the Wiri plant is to be completely remodelled over the Christmas break to increase efficiency. The $2.5M expansion will make the plant the most sophisticated in the country. Mr Broadbent said that Datsun had just passed Ford to become third largest car-maker in the world, selling 2.5 million cars in 1979. He said that the knocked-down packs for the Datsuns sold in New Zealand each year took only five hours 20 minutes to produce in Nissan’s Japanese plants, which produce 1189 cars per hour.