Opel Adding Capacity at New Engine Plant in Hungary

BUDAPEST – Adam Opel will expand its newly built flexible-engine plant in Szentgotthard, Hungary.

General Motors’ German subsidiary announced plans in September 2010 to invest €500 million ($672.5 million) to expand engine production at its Hungarian Opel Szentgotthard plant.

While physically one facility, Opel Szentgotthard now consists of two units, the older factory and the new Flex Plant.

The expanded portion of the Szentgotthard facility has a total capacity of 500,000 units annually. Series production of the new-generation 1.6L, 4-cyl. SIDI (spark ignition direct injection) Ecotec Turbo gasoline engines making 170 hp launched last week. A 200-hp version will be added later.

Now Opel will invest an additional €130 million ($174.8 million) in its new Flex Plant to increase yearly capacity by 100,000 units, to a total of 600,000. With this additional investment, the factory will be enlarged by 17,220 sq.-ft. (1,600 sq.-m) and more than 80 new machines will be installed.

“Opel is in the midst of a product offensive: 23 new models and 13 new engines will be launched by 2016, and many of these engines will be built in Hungary,” Joachim Koschnicke, Opel vice president-government relations, says in a statement.

The new Flex Plant will feature a high degree of adaptability allowing a rapid change in production schedules. For example, different engine and component types will be made on the same production line, and changes in the diesel-to-gasoline ratio will not impact plant utilization.

The manufacturing portfolio will consist of a family of small gasoline engines and a range of medium-size gasoline and diesel powerplants. All will meet future Euro 6 emissions standards, feature direct injection in the gasoline mills, secure a low power/weight ratio and substantially reduce fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions.

The Hungarian facility next week will launch volume production of an all-new 4-cyl., 1.6L CDTI Ecotec turbodiesel engine with 136 hp. It will replace existing 1.7L engines and certain lower-powered versions of the 2.0L range.

Featuring closed-loop combustion control and an aluminum block, the new 1.6 CDTI Ecotec is the first diesel from Opel to comply with future Euro 6 emissions requirements. The mill will be available in a variety of power outputs across several car lines. The first version to be manufactured in Hungary will develop 136 hp.

Volume production of a new range of small gasoline engines starts about a year from now in Szentgotthard. This family will include 3-cyl. and 4-cyl. mills between 1.0L and 1.4L.

While Opel is ramping up production in the new Flex Plant, the older portion of the facility continues output of 1.6L and 1.8L gasoline engines. It manufactured 289,879 engines last year and expects even higher output in 2013. More than half of last year’s builds were shipped to parent GM plants outside Europe.