Ford
Motor has launched its latest EcoBoost engine – the new 1.5-litre gasoline unit
which will be manufactured initially at Ford’s facility in Craiova, Romania.
With the launch of the engine, Ford now has capacity to
build 1.6 million EcoBoost engines annually. By the end of 2013 six plants
across Europe, Asia and North America will be produce EcoBoost engines, triple
the number in 2010.
Production of the four-cylinder
1.5-litre engine – the fifth member of the EcoBoost family – begins in Craiova
later this month. Other manufacturing locations will be announced later.
The new engine will be
first introduced in China in the new Ford Mondeo that makes its public debut
later this month at the Auto Shanghai Show 2013. Other applications follow in
the Fusion sedan in North America this year, and later the new Mondeo in
Europe.
As a key contributor to
Ford’s aggressive fuel economy and emissions strategy, EcoBoost technologies
enable improvements to both fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions of up to 20 per cent.
The 1.5-litre engine
benefits from turbocharging, direct fuel injection and variable valve timing;
it also offers high levels of engine refinement, quietness and performance.
Additionally, the new
engine will allow Ford entry into global markets offering tax relief to
consumers who purchase vehicles with engines of 1.5-litre capacity or
less.
The new aluminium-block,
twin-cam 1.5-litre engine carries features introduced on the 1.0-litre
EcoBoost, including an integrated exhaust manifold. The new engine is expected
to provide similar horsepower and torque performance to Ford’s current
1.6-litre EcoBoost, while delivering improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.
The 1.5-litre engine is the
first engine from Ford to incorporate a computer-controlled clutch on the belt-drive
water pump further improving efficiencies by reducing warm-up time. A
water-cooled charge air cooler is added to offer a more efficient feed of air
into the engine.
Ford has sold over 600,000
EcoBoost-equipped vehicles globally since the range was launched with the
3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost in 2009. Ford added the 2.0-litre EcoBoost in 2010; the
1.6-litre EcoBoost followed in 2011; and last year the 1.0-litre EcoBoost was
launched.
By the end of this year,
nearly 80 per cent of the company’s global nameplates will be available with
fuel-saving EcoBoost technology.
