Ford Launches 1.5L Engine Output in Romania

VIENNA – Volume production of the new 1.5L 4-cyl. EcoBoost gasoline engine is under way at the Ford Romania plant in Craiova, Romania.

Also known as the Sigma engine, the 1.5L is the second product to be manufactured at the Craiova engine plant, following launch of the 1.0L 3-cyl. EcoBoost in spring 2012.

Ford has invested about €230 million ($299 million) to modernize and upgrade the facility, including nearly €180 million ($234 million) for the 1.0L engine and more than €50 million ($65 million) for the 1.5L.

The new aluminum-block, twin-cam 1.5L EcoBoost engine features many of the same innovative technologies introduced on the 1.0L mill, including an integrated exhaust manifold.

Craiova is the first manufacturing site for the new engine. Other locations will be announced later this year.

The lead market for the 1.5L engine is China, followed by North America and Europe.

“The start of production of the new 1.5L EcoBoost engine represents a milestone for our team here in Craiova,” Craiova Powertrain Operations Manager Ian Pearson says in a prepared statement. “I am very proud that with this new engine, our products will now be driven not only in Europe but all over the world.”

However, Ford plans the 1.0L engine to be the plant’s main product.

“The two engines will run in parallel at Craiova, but we don't yet know whether the Sigma engine will stay in Craiova forever,” Wolfgang G. Schneider, Ford of Europe vice president-governmental, environmental and legal affairs, told WardsAuto in an interview last year. “That depends on how successful the 1.0L engine is.”

The 1.5L will be introduced first in China in the all-new Ford Mondeo, which made its debut at this month’s Shanghai auto show. It also will be available this year in the Fusion sedan sold in North America and later in the new Mondeo in Europe.

The Craiova engine plant employs about 1,000 people and manufactured 26,991 of the 1.0L engines last year. It currently is building 1,000 engines a day.

Ford Romania also makes the Ford B-Max multipurpose vehicle, launched June 2012. The operation, which produced 30,217 cars last year, currently builds 360 vehicles per day.

The Craiova plant dates to 1981, when it was a joint venture between Romania’s Communist government and Automobiles Citroen. In 1994, South Korea’s Daewoo became a shareholder in the plant, which continued production of Daewoo-badged cars until 2008. Ford took over the operation in March 2008.