Founded in 1976 by the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, the Craiova plant used to produce the Citroen Axel-based Oltcit until 1995. Then Daewoo bought the facility from the Romanian government, and then Ford entered the scene with the Transit Connect and B-Max.
Craiova is also the place where the EcoSport for Europe is manufactured, but turbocharged engines are also made in this part of the world. In production since 2012, the Craiova-built EcoBoost 1.0-liter turbo now numbers in the 1,000,000s thanks to increased demand.
Ian Pearson, the president of Ford Romania and head of Ford Craiova, declared that everyone is proud of this achievement. Engine number 1,000,000 was fitted to an EcoSport Titanium this morning, bought by a customer who lives in Craiova of all places. Having driven the subcompact crossover with the 125-PS engine, there’s no denying it’s more than adequate for this application.
The 1.0L is available in the Fiesta and Focus too, and starting with the 2020 model year, the engine will be offered with mild-hybrid assistance in Europe. More on this matter will be revealed in April 2019 at the Go Further even in the Netherlands where Ford will take the veil off the all-new Kuga (a.k.a. Escape in the United States of America).
Starting in 2018, the EcoBoost three-cylinder is available with cylinder deactivation, the first three-cylinder engine to feature this technology. The Tourneo and Transit plug-in hybrid also rely on the 1.0-liter powerplant from Craiova.
Turning our attention back to the Romanian plant, the Blue Oval announced that 1,700 new jobs would be created this year. A second nameplate will be added to the assembly lines in the nearest of futures, and chances are that Ford is talking about a subcompact-ish crossover that’s expected to slot between the EcoSport and Kuga.
Similar to America, the Old Continent loves crossovers! Demand is through the roof and keeps on climbing, affecting sales of conventional body styles such as sedans and hatchbacks. Last year, the Nissan Qashqai ranked fifth on the list of best-selling nameplates in Europe. The Volkswagen Tiguan couldn’t do better than eighth.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News