After establishing its credentials as a global hub of small cars, India is now moving into exporting engines en masse.
According to a report on the Economic Times, Ford plans to source a new family of engines called the 'Dragon.' The report quotes 'a person of knowledge' who says that the Dragon engines are for Ford's models from 2016-17 and that the company plans to source 1.5 million units per year of 1.2- and 1.5-liter capacities.
The report says that Ford's upcoming plant in Sanand will be the lead producer of the Dragon engines and that it will be made in Europe, Russia, Brazil and China. Ford had previously commented that making India an export base for manufacturing would help deliver global projects and design at an affordable cost to local consumers.
Apart from Ford, Renault is also using its research and development capabilities in the country to develop a new 986 cc petrol engine, codenamed B4D, working alongside the company's R&D facilities in Brazil and France. ET's report states that the B4D engine is a tuned version of the 800 cc engine that Renault plans to use in a car to be launched in 2015-16.
[Source - The Economic Times]
