Ford Starts Engine Production in New World-Class Facility in Romania; Class-Leading 1.0-litre EcoBoost Its First Engine
- Ford starts volume engine production at its new world-class engine facility in Craiova, Romania
- Ford has invested €180 million (about $235 million) to modernise and upgrade the Craiova engine facility
- In total, Ford is investing more than €675 million (about $875 million) in its Craiova engine and vehicle manufacturing facility
- First engine to be built is Ford’s class leading, three-cylinder, 1.0-litre EcoBoost
CRAIOVA, Romania, May, 10, 2012 – Ford Motor Company today marked the officially start of volume production at its new world-class engine facility in Craiova, Romania.
The new engine plant is the result of an €180 million (about $235 million) investment by Ford. In total, Ford is investing more than €675 million (about $875 million) in engine and vehicle production in Romania.
The first Ford-built engine in Romania is the high-tech 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine. Also built in Cologne, Germany, the turbo-charged, direct-injection three-pot is the smallest petrol engine built by Ford. It’s is currently being introduced across Europe in the Ford Focus (100 PS and 125 PS versions) to wide media acclaim for its fuel efficiency, performance and refinement.
The new engine also will be available in the new Ford B-MAX (100 PS and 120 PS), the Ford C-MAX and Ford Grand C-MAX, and in several other Ford vehicles in the future.
“This is an important day that brings a new level of advanced manufacturing to this part of Europe,” said Dirk Heller, Ford of Europe’s director for manufacturing and powertrain operations. “With pivotal products such as the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine and the new B-MAX, which goes into production later this year, Craiova is very important to Ford’s future success in Europe.”
Jan Gijsen, president of Ford Romania, added: “Craiova plays a very important role in Ford’s global manufacturing footprint. Our investment has transformed Craiova’s engine manufacturing facility into one of the most competitive and modern plants in the auto industry.”
The Craiova Engine Plant will initially run a single shift, but Ford will introduce further shifts in the future as customer demand increases.
“I’m very proud to announce the official start of the engine production at our new facility in Craiova, said Ian Pearson, engine unit manager, Ford Romania. “This plant will deliver state-of-the-art sustainable manufacturing capability.”
For example, Pearson said, new manufacturing techniques reduce the volume of coolant required when machining aluminium engine parts to just 4-5 millilitres per component from a usual requirement of up to two litres.”
The new B-MAX, which goes into volume production at the Craiova plant this year will be available with both the 100PS and 120PS versions of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine. Equipped with the Ford Auto-Start-Stop system as standard, the 120PS EcoBoost engine achieves class-leading CO2 emissions of 114g/km and fuel consumption of 4.9l/100km (57.6mpg), 15 per cent more economical than its key competitors.
The 100PS and 125PS EcoBoost powered Focus offers class-leading fuel economy of 4.8l/100km (58.9mpg) and CO2 emissions of 109g/km and 5.0l/100km (56.5mpg) with CO2 of 114g/km, respectively.
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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.