Ford To Use Mahindra Engine in New EcoSport

US car manufacturer Ford has joined hands with Indian SUV King Mahindra for manufacturing next-generation products in the country. With the government deciding to impose much more stringent emission norms in the country, car manufacturers have been working round the clock to bring new, emission-compliant engines. Under the new agreement, American car manufacturer Ford will share its all-new 2.0-litre BS6-compliant diesel engine that is currently being developed by Mahindra. Not just this, as the new BS6 norms come into effect, Ford will also replace its award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost with a Mahindra engine.

According to a report by a leading auto website, Ford will have to stop the use of its three-cylinder, turbocharged engine that powers the EcoSport from April 2020. The company, the website claims, will use the new 1.2-litre, direct-injection, three-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine in the EcoSport. Bear in mind that this new engine will be based on the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine that operates the Mahindra XUV300.

What is worth remembering is that the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is imported to India and is only available with Ford EcoSport at the moment. Being an imported engine, it is quite expensive than its locally manufactured counterparts. This has been the reason for steep rise in price of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost powered variant of the EcoSport.  

Though Ford EcoSport will be the first car to use this new engine in Indian, Mahindra will also use it in its XUV300 in near future. As has been reported, Ford is developing a new compact SUV that will most likely replace EcoSport in Indian. Ford will use the 1.2-litre TGDI engine from Mahinda to power this new car.  

Coming to Mahindra, the car manufacturer is soon going to launch the all-new XUV300 with an AMT automatic transmission. However, the new engine will get a twin-clutch transmission that is much sophisticated and performs better than the regular AMT.

Mahindra is all set to unveil a new range of BS6-compliant petrol engines by September 2019 and the carmaker will launch BS6-compliant diesel engines by 2020. Mahindra had earlier stated that the price difference between petrol and diesel variants will increase once the new emission norms come into effect but the cars will continue to be affordable. This is significant specially keeping in mind that Maruti Suzuki has already announced that it will not sell any diesel-powered cars in Indian after the BS6 norms are enforced. Other competitors such as Tata, Honda, Hyundai, Mahindra, and Ford though will continue to offer diesel engines in the country.