Ford has initiated production of its 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine at its Bridgend Engine Plant in South Wales in the UK. The new EcoBoost engine features in the Fiesta ST and Focus.
To accommodate production of the unit, the auto maker has built an all-new, state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing facility, which is the result of a £100m (US$127m) investment, including support from the Welsh government.
“I’m personally very proud to see production start of this all-new engine here in Bridgend,” said Wallace Yearwood, plant manager. Bridgend.
“It’s the result of a significant investment in the plant, a plant which has a long-established history of delivering world-class engines, and we will make this engine another success.”
As part of the quality confirmation process, the engine undergoes multi-stage testing and process monitoring at all points during assembly. Machining lines for the cylinder head and cylinder block feature the latest CNC technology and environmentally efficient cutting systems.
The all-new engine family was designed and developed by engineers at the Ford Dunton Technical Centre in Essex in the UK, as well as at Ford’s Technical Center in Merkenich, Germany, and the Ford Research and Innovation Centre in Aachen, Germany.
