Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Car has commenced the production of its new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) engine family at its powertrain manufacturing plant in Skovde.
Volvo has invested about SEK2bn ($303.4m) in the Skovde powertrain plant for the production of new engines.
The VEA family includes several four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, in addition to a new three-cylinder engine, which is planned to be launched in the future.
Volvo Car Powertrain Engineering vice president Derek Crabb said: "This marks a milestone in Volvo Cars' history. With our new engine family we are focusing on two additional vital properties - driving pleasure and fuel efficiency."
The new VEA engines, which have been developed by a Swedish team of engineers, are aimed at delivering improved performance over the current six-cylinder units, while reducing fuel consumption compared to the existing four-cylinder units.
VEA, together with driveline electrification, would replace the earlier eight engine architectures on three different platforms.
Volvo is planning to introduce the new engines between 2013 and 2015, while about 20,000 would be produced during 2013.
In autumn 2013, Volvo will initially introduce new engine family and driveline electrification in its S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models.
