The Skoda plant at Mlada Boleslav recently rolled out the 13 millionth engine from its assembly lines. And, as if that was not reason enough to celebrate, Skoda also announced that it has commenced production of the all-new 3-cylinder 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine at the same plant. This new engine belongs to Skoda's EA 211 family which has 4 variants of different displacements. Some of the EA 211 engines are used in the Octavia, Yeti and the Rapid in India.
The EA 211 series of engines were first manufactured in 2012. These engines have an aluminium cylinder block and twin overhead camshafts with 4 valves in each cylinder. The exhaust manifold is also integrated into the cylinder head. The new 1.0-litre TSI engine has forged con-rods and aluminium pistons. It is of course lighter, compact and more efficient than the 4-cylinder engines in Skoda's line-up. Also, it does not need a balancer shaft.
(We might see the new 3-cylinder 1.0-litre engine from Skoda in India)Skoda hasn't released the specifications for the new engines and the scope for tuning it either. But we believe that this is similar to the engine that is currently in use on the Audi A3 sedan sold in international markets. It generates 114 bhp of peak power and 200 Nm of peak torque.
With BS-VI emission norms just a year or so away, we might see this engine being brought to Indian in the near future. Also, India is looking to adapt the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards wherein the government gives tax rebates to automotive manufacturers who have fuel efficient models in their line-ups.
The company has also increased the production of both the engines and cars the Mlada Boleslav plant. At present, the plant manufactures up to 2,300 engines in a day's work. The plant has been in operation since 1899 when the founders built a 1.25 bhp engine with a single cylinder for Slavia motorcycles. It began manufacturing engines for cars in 1905.
