North American Automakers Opt for Plastic Fuel Systems, According to Inergy Automotive Systems

Plastic Fuel System Market share up 11 percent since 1999

PARIS, April 28 -- Plastic fuel systems have gained an additional 11 percent of the North American automotive fuel system market since 1999, thanks to a combination of competitive pricing, design flexibility and structural integrity, according to Pierre Lecocq, president and CEO of Inergy Automotive Systems.

According to a product forecast by CSM Worldwide, a leading global automotive market intelligence and forecasting company, 71 percent of all North American manufactured vehicles will use a plastic fuel system, compared to 60 percent in 1999.

Inergy recently announced it will increase production capacity at its Anderson, S.C., manufacturing facility by 20 percent to meet increasing demand.

Plastic fuel systems will maintain significant market share as their designs evolve to meet stronger environmental regulators such as CARB LEV II and PZEV over the next several years, according to Lecocq.

"There are several important environmental requirements expected in the next several years, including CARB LEV II and PZEV that will be critical to the future of plastic fuel systems," Lecocq said. "The best way to meet these regulations is through the gradual, evolutionary improvements that build off of the traditional benefits of plastic fuel systems."

Inergy has enhanced its LEV II solutions by adding a multi-layer barrier film which is laser-welded over LEV II components to reduce permeation, and a zero permeation "snap-in" feature that reduces emissions for internal components. These enhancements allow Inergy to manufacture PZEV and LEV II fuel systems on the same production equipment.

Inergy Automotive Systems, which supplies Renault, General Motors/Opel, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, VW, and PSA, provides its customers with plastic fuel systems designed to meet the most stringent emissions requirements, such as partial zero emission vehicles (PZEV) and Air Resource Board (ARB).

Plastic fuel systems have evolved over the past decade from simple tanks to highly engineered systems including fuel filling, storage, pumping, gauging and vapor management. This includes components such as the fuel tank, pump, fuel lines, delivery module and wiring harnesses as well as the environmental controls such as on-board refuelling vapor and recovery system and on-board diagnostic sensor.

Inergy is a global Tier One supplier of complete fuel systems and energy storage system technologies. The company had sales in 2002 of 1.2 billion Euros, and manufactured more than 11.5 million fuel systems for the global automotive industry. Inergy, headquartered in Paris, employs more than 4,000 people and has 27 facilities in 17 countries around the world.

Further information about Inergy Automotive Systems can be found on the Internet at: www.inergyautomotive.com