Engineering news
Ford is to increase production at its Dagenham plant, investing an additional £190 million at the site to produce an advanced technology 2.0-litre diesel engine for cars and vans.
The investment, which includes £8.9 million from the government’s Regional Growth Fund, will create 318 new jobs.
Stephen Odell, Ford executive vice-president, Europe, Middle East & Africa, said: “This all-new, state-of-the-art, low carbon diesel engine has not only been designed and developed here it will be manufactured by Ford in the UK too. And it will be great for UK plc as these engines will be exported to markets around the world.”
This is the second phase of investment in the new engine programme following the original investment of £287 million for phase one, bringing the total invested in the project to more than £475 million.
The first phase of investment relates to the production of low carbon 2.0 litre diesel engines for Ford commercial vehicles (CVs) globally. The second phase is for low carbon, 2.0 litre diesel engines for cars.
The new engines have been designed and developed at Ford Dagenham and at the Ford Dunton Technical Centre in Essex.
The first ‘phase one’ engines will come off the line towards the end of next year. Production capacity will be up to 350,000 units per year – one engine produced every 30 seconds – and will be installed in Ford CVs from 2016.
The second phase of engine production is scheduled to start in 2017, with the first installation in Ford cars planned for 2018. The added capacity of up to 150,000 units for this phase brings the total annual capacity for the all-new engine range to up to half a million units.
Business secretary, Vince Cable, said: “Through the UK government’s industrial strategy we are backing the automotive sector as it goes from strength to strength. We are providing the right environment to give businesses the confidence to invest and create high skilled jobs.”
This latest engine programme is part of a £1.5 billion investment by Ford in low-carbon and environmentally-friendly engine and vehicle technology over five years.
