Ford marks an important milestone this week as more than two million of its award-winning EcoBoost engines have now been produced across the world. The engine to achieve this number was a 2.0-litre unit fitted to a Ford Escape in Kentucky, U.S.A.
Since its launch in 2009, the EcoBoost engine family has grown to include a 1.0-litre three-cylinder; 1.5-, 1.6- and 2.0-litre four-cylinder units; and a 3.5-litre V6 used predominately in the American market. Due to the popularity of the engine family, production has increased from 65,000 per month in 2012 to over 100,000 in 2013.
Ford says that its engine plant in Cologne, Germany is currently dealing with double its intended workload to cope with the demand for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost unit in Europe; while at the same time beginning production for the three-cylinder engine in North America as well. When it goes on sale there in 2014, the Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost is expected to be the most fuel-efficient, non-hybrid car available in the USA. The Fiesta is just one of 11 vehicles Ford intends to sell with its tiny three-cylinder unit by 2014.
In other guises, the 1.6-litre unit finds its way into the sporty Fiesta ST; while the larger 2.0-litre engine is installed in the Focus ST hot hatch. Ford also claims that 18 per cent of Kuga buyers are opting for the 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine as opposed to the more traditional diesel powertrain.
North America is also taking advantage of the fuel-saving technology; as statistics show that 90 per cent of Escape customers, 50 per cent of Fusion buyers and 42 per cent of F-150 truck owners all choose Ford's EcoBoost engine family.
"Ford EcoBoost delivers great performance with lower fuel bills," comments Joe Bakaj, Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford. "EcoBoost engines are attracting more customers to the Ford brand every day, and our plants are working hard to keep up with demand."
To allow for increased production levels Ford has recently opened a $500 million engine plant in Chongqing, China; and will be investing $200 million in its existing factory in Cleveland, Ohio.
Anything else?
Since the introduction of the EcoBoost engine family, the most popular unit has been the 3.5-litre V6 variant sold in North America; making up 635,000 of the EcoBoost's two million sales.