Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally today launched production of Ford’s smallest petrol engine – a 1.0-litre, turbocharged, direct injection EcoBoost engine – developed by UK engineers. It will debut in Europe in early 2012 and ultimately be available worldwide.

The 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine will be available in the all-new Ford Focus and will produce 125PS while delivering a combined fuel economy of 56.5mpg and ultra-low petrol CO2 emissions performance of 114g/km – a level unmatched by Focus competitors. A 100PS version of the same engine will deliver outright best-in-class petrol CO2 emissions of 109g/km. This engine will also feature in the Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, plus the new Ford B-MAX which enters production in mid 2012.

"The new 1.0-litre EcoBoost and our entire family of EcoBoost engines – represent technology breakthroughs that deliver power, fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions through turbocharging and direct injection,” Mulally said. “These engines are delivering the fuel-efficient vehicles customers want and value."

Ford has invested £110 million to develop a special high-tech line at the Cologne Engine Plant to build the engine. The plant’s 870 employees will build up to 350,000 units a year of the new engine.

European production capacity could increase to up to 700,000 units per year as production of the small EcoBoost engine at Cologne is joined by Ford’s new engine plant in Craiova, Romania, in early 2012. In the years ahead, Ford anticipates production to expand outside of Europe to deliver global capacity of up to 1.3 million 1.0-litre EcoBoost engines per year.