GM to build more small-displacement engines

Responding to increasing consumer demand for efficient vehicles, GM is developing a whole family of new small-displacement engines. (Photo: GM)

fuel economy and low pollution emissions. General Motors is continuing in this trend with the recent announcement of not just one or two new small-displacement engines, but a whole family of them.

GM says that it subsidiary company Chevrolet will benefit from an all-new global family of small-displacement Ecotec gasoline engines. The announcement comes as a result of General Motors' partnership with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).

"Our customers around the world agree we need to reduce our dependence on petroleum and reduce vehicle carbon emissions," said Jim Federico, vehicle line executive for GM global small cars and electric vehicles. "We are working aggressively on vehicle electrification and other technologies, but the most immediate progress will come from continually improving the internal combustion engine."

Production of the new range of small engines is expected to begin in the middle of this decade and the new engines are expected to deliver improved fuel economy, better performance and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

The lightweight 3- and 4-cylinder Ecotec engines will feature direct injection and turbocharging. (Photo: GM)

This range of small engines will also benefit from reduced noise, vibration and harshness according to GM.

The family of engines will be comprised of 3- and 4-cylinder designs with displacement ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 litres. Intended for use on a global scale, these engines will feature lightweight designs, direct injection, turbocharging and alternative fuel compatibility.

So far in 2011, vehicles with 4-cylinder engines have accounted for 46 percent of sales for Chevrolet. There is clearly a strong consumer demand for vehicles with small engines and GM's new family of 3- and 4-cylinder engines will help to meet this demand in the coming years. GM predicts that by the end of the decade, more than two million of the new small-displacement engines could be assembled annually.

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