The Ford B-Max, an MPV version of the Fiesta, has been shown to us at this year’s Geneva Auto Show, but we only got to see it in concept form. However, we now learn that full production of the vehicle and a new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will get underway in Romania starting Spring of 2012, according to Wards Auto.
We have also learned that the full production version has kept the cool and very practical rear sliding doors. Many of the engines and other components will be borrowed from the reliable and sturdy Ford Fiesta, but the MPV also bring a length increase of 11 cm (4.33 inches).
“It is correct that there has been a delay in our plans for this plant,” Wolfgang G. Schneider, Ford of Europe vice president-governmental, environmental and legal affairs, told Wards Auto. “In the crisis, we put back our plans somewhat, but otherwise they have not changed. We still find Romania a strategically correct decision.”
The first prototypes of the car that Ford eventually wants to mass produce at the Craiova plant in Romania have begun being assembled. The future MPV model will be powered by the regular engine line-up Ford is currently using, enforced by the EcoBoost range. In the concept shown in Geneva, Ford used a small, 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder Ecoboost to push it forward with the aid of its 100 hp.
“In Craiova, we will have a so-called mega-plant in which we will produce both engines and vehicles at a capacity of about 300,000 units each,” Schneider says.
The Blue Oval actually put the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost into production, coupling it to an eight-speed transmission. The engine is the smallest Ford has ever built, but the carmaker wants it to eventually replace all normally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline units in its range.
“It is correct that there has been a delay in our plans for this plant,” Wolfgang G. Schneider, Ford of Europe vice president-governmental, environmental and legal affairs, told Wards Auto. “In the crisis, we put back our plans somewhat, but otherwise they have not changed. We still find Romania a strategically correct decision.”
The first prototypes of the car that Ford eventually wants to mass produce at the Craiova plant in Romania have begun being assembled. The future MPV model will be powered by the regular engine line-up Ford is currently using, enforced by the EcoBoost range. In the concept shown in Geneva, Ford used a small, 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder Ecoboost to push it forward with the aid of its 100 hp.
“In Craiova, we will have a so-called mega-plant in which we will produce both engines and vehicles at a capacity of about 300,000 units each,” Schneider says.
The Blue Oval actually put the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost into production, coupling it to an eight-speed transmission. The engine is the smallest Ford has ever built, but the carmaker wants it to eventually replace all normally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline units in its range.
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