GM will develop engines smaller cylinder
Reduction plan to the complexity of manufacturing by combining three engine families into one
General Motors will develop an all-new global family of petrol engines Ecotec small cylinder in the coming years, which will provide customers worldwide markets better energy efficiency, superior quality and performance while producing less emission carbon dioxide.
The program could encompass more than 2 million engines per year by the end of the decade.
The new family of global engines include a range of three and four-cylinder engines with a displacement of 1.0 L 1.5 L - designed and manufactured in many parts of the planet and destined to the world. These engines will be characterized by lightness and technologies such as direct injection, turbocharging and compatibility with alternative fuel to combine efficiency and performance on demand. The new family of engines will also be designed to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, specific to small engines.
"Our customers around the world agree that we must reduce our dependence on oil and carbon emissions of vehicles, stated Jim Federico, Director of range for small cars and electric vehicles from GM. We are working hard on the electrification of vehicles and other technologies, but the most immediate progress will rely primarily on the continuous improvement of the internal combustion engine. "
The global engine family consolidation is part of the development strategy of products larger GM aimed at simplifying the technicality and complexity of manufacturing the same cost while improving competitiveness, efficiency and quality.
For example, to simplify the technical and manufacturing complexity, the engines are designed and built using a modular approach that will appeal has interchangeable global components. Programs and global vehicles present a greater flexibility.
The start of production is planned for the middle of the decade. The engines will be put into service in the global vehicle programs for GM in many vehicle architectures in various regions, until the end of the decade. Places of manufacture and production schedule will be announced later.
The new engine family is the result of a technical partnership between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.. (SAIC), Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).
