Ford Bridgend Plant Gets Royal Visit

The British division of Ford announced today that its Bridgend plant was recently visited by The Prince of Wales himself, for the plant’s 30th birthday celebration. The facility is responsible for production of the new 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engines.

"We are delighted to welcome His Royal Highness back to Ford Bridgend on the plant's 30th birthday.  The new Ford EcoBoost petrol engines from Bridgend are providing Ford vehicles with a combination of lower emissions and improved fuel economy and performance. The investment in these high-efficiency powerplants is vital to meet the current and future needs of our customers and the environment," Joe Greenwell, Ford of Britain chairman, said in a release.

The power unit features lightweight all-aluminium construction, the latest-generation high-pressure direct-injection system, low-inertia turbocharging and twin-independent variable cam timing. Ford investment at Bridgend reportedly totals $2.7 billion.

According to Ford, its EcoBoost engines deliver fuel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced by up to 20 percent when compared to conventional petrol engines with a similar power output. The new Ford C-MAX, on-sale later this year, will be the first Ford model to be fitted with the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine, built at Bridgend.

At Bridgend, The Prince was shown Ford's latest sporty S-MAX with the advanced 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine. HRH also visited the Bridgend plant back in 1998, and then Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in 2007, where he drove a sub-100g CO2 petrol-engined Ford Focus prototype.