Ford's three-millionth UK-built small diesel

Ford's three-millionth UK-built small-capacity diesel engine has rolled off the line at the company’s manufacturing centre at Dagenham, Essex.  

Low-carbon diesel engines have been built at the Dagenham Diesel Centre plant for a variety of models across Ford's range, and for other manufacturers, since production started in May 2007

On average more than 30,000 engines are produced every month, with total production of the small-capacity diesel engine for 2013 exceeding 365,000.

The engine was launched with 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre capacities, and, in 2013, the 1.4-litre version was upgraded to a more fuel-efficient 1.5-litre that delivers lower emissions, and which is produced alongside the ultra-efficient 1.6-litre unit.

By September 2015 all Ford diesel engines will comply with the latest Euro-6 emission regulations, which reflect an 84 per cent reduction in NOx emissions from diesel cars since 2000.

Ford marked 30 years of the diesel-engined Ford Fiesta in May 2014 and all generations of the model, spanning three decades, have been powered by Dagenham-built engines.

Last year, more than 76,000 Ford vehicles sold in the UK were fitted with Ford's small-capacity diesel engine, accounting for around 20 per cent of all Ford cars and commercial vehicles sold through 2013.

In a Ford Fiesta, the 1.5-litre engine emits 98g/km of CO₂ and returns a combined 76.4 mile/gal. The 1.6-litre Ford Fiesta ECOnetic model with Auto-Start-Stop emits just 85g/km and can return a combined 85.6 mile/gal.

The 1.6-litre engine is available across the Ford range in Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-Max, Grand C-Max, Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models, in addition to the new Ford Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect.

The new Ford EcoSport is available with the 1.5-litre engine, as are the Ford Fiesta, and Ford B-MAX models.

Martin Everitt, Dagenham Engine Plant manager, said: "This milestone demonstrates the strong demand for clean, powerful, yet economical, small-capacity diesel engines. This is set to grow further when we introduce the new Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo models, both of which will be available with this low-carbon diesel engine".