Diesel engine maker, Cummins, could widen its market to SUVs as automakers are beginning to turn to more fuel-efficient diesels, according to an Indianapolis Star report. Long known for heavy-duty engines, Cummins, which currently supplies diesels for Chrysler’s Dodge Ram pickups, has discussed making more midrange diesels for Chrysler that could enable the company to land diesel orders from other auto companies. Joe Loughrey, Cummins’ president, said that no orders are in hand for midrange diesels beyond the Ram business, but he expects high gasoline prices will raise demand for diesel engines. As a result, he said, Cummins could sell more diesels to Chrysler and bring out other diesel models for other automakers, according to the report. When asked if Cummins might import diesels from its Chinese joint-venture plants, Loughrey said that the new lines would be assembled in North America, most likely in the United States. Diesels will go into about 500,000 of the 17 million cars and trucks automakers expect to sell this year in the United States. Cummins, along with Navistar International Corp. and Duramax, make almost all of those diesels.
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