Ford Sollers, the Russian joint venture (JV) of US automaker Ford Motor, has started the construction of a new $274m engine manufacturing plant in Tatarstan, Russia.
The new facility, which is the carmaker's first passenger car engine plant in the region, will produce three different versions of the 1.6L Duratec engine that offers power outputs of 85PS, 105PS and 125PS respectively.
Production at the new plant is scheduled to start in December 2015, upon which it will have an initial annual capacity of about 105,000 engines, which can be increased to 200,000 units per year in future.
According to Ford, the new engines will power at least 30% of its vehicles manufactured in Russia.
Additionally, the JV will also produce EcoSport sport utility vehicle (SUV) at Tatarstan plant from the second half of 2014, increasing the Russian Ford SUV range that already includes Transit, new Kuga, S-MAX, Galaxy and Explorer models.
Ford Sollers executive director and chief operating officer Adil Shirinov said: "Local production of the EcoSport by Ford Sollers in Tatarstan will help to strengthen the Ford brand position in Russia's popular SUV segment."
The EcoSport SUV for the Russian market will feature driver assistance technologies including electronic stability program, hill launch assist, SYNC voice-activated in-car connectivity system and keyless entry & start system.
