Photo: Opel
When PSA took control over Opel in August last year, it also acquired control over the German company’s Rüsselsheim Engineering Center, one of the biggest R&D hubs for the automotive industry in Europe.
After sharing some of its platforms with the Germans to be make them more competitive, it’s time for Opel to return the favor. And it will, with the help of its engineers stationed at Rüsselsheim.
The next generation of four-cylinder gasoline engines that would make their way into future Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall cars is currently under development in Germany. The markets that would get it, starting 2022, when it is supposed to be ready, are China, Europe, and North America.
Adding North America to the list is in line with plans announced earlier this year by PSA. According to the French, the Citroen and Peugeot brands would be making a comeback to the U.S. decades after it left in 1991.
It did so because at the time it experienced plummeting sales caused by a range of car models that was not at all appealing to the American public.
The fact that in recent year PSA became Europe's second-largest carmaker makes it confident that its ten year U.S. re-entry plan will pay off.
The engine currently being developed is to be part of the lineup of hybrids that the five brands would be launching. Opel says the new engine family would be optimized for operation in combination with electric motors. The new breed of powertrain would be joining the PureTech turbo currently in use.
“Rüsselsheim already had global responsibility for engine development when we were still part of GM," said in a statement Christian Müller, Opel’s engineering manager.
“With the development of the new generation of four-cylinder petrol engines, we can exploit one of our key competencies. The economic direct-injection, in combination with hybrid technology, will consolidate the strong position of Groupe PSA in lowering CO2 emissions.”
The next generation of four-cylinder gasoline engines that would make their way into future Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall cars is currently under development in Germany. The markets that would get it, starting 2022, when it is supposed to be ready, are China, Europe, and North America.
Adding North America to the list is in line with plans announced earlier this year by PSA. According to the French, the Citroen and Peugeot brands would be making a comeback to the U.S. decades after it left in 1991.
It did so because at the time it experienced plummeting sales caused by a range of car models that was not at all appealing to the American public.
The fact that in recent year PSA became Europe's second-largest carmaker makes it confident that its ten year U.S. re-entry plan will pay off.
The engine currently being developed is to be part of the lineup of hybrids that the five brands would be launching. Opel says the new engine family would be optimized for operation in combination with electric motors. The new breed of powertrain would be joining the PureTech turbo currently in use.
“Rüsselsheim already had global responsibility for engine development when we were still part of GM," said in a statement Christian Müller, Opel’s engineering manager.
“With the development of the new generation of four-cylinder petrol engines, we can exploit one of our key competencies. The economic direct-injection, in combination with hybrid technology, will consolidate the strong position of Groupe PSA in lowering CO2 emissions.”
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