The fall of diesel makes the happiness of the essence. Forced to adapt to the evolution of demand in Europe, PSA has decided to seriously increase its production capacity of gasoline engines on the site of the French Mechanics in Douvrin (Pas-de-Calais).
According to our information, 350,000 EP 1.6 liter blocks will soon be machined every year, compared to 200,000 currently. The works, which require a limited investment, must begin next year and be completed the following year. “It’s official since this week,” says a local source.
“This big rise shows that high-end vehicles like the SUV Peugeot 3008 are more and more sold in gasoline version, comments Romain Gillet, an analyst at IHS. This is good news for the site, which will also be the only one to manufacture the hybrid gasoline engine that will be available on the C and D segments by 2023 “.
At the direction of the group, we explain that the challenge is to reduce to the maximum and as quickly as possible the import of petrol engines from Chinese factories, an expensive practice .
Renault goes away
In the Artois, the “FM” will be able to come out every year 400,000 EB gasoline three-cylinder turbo engines, 350,000 petrol EP 1.6 liter and 350,000 diesel engines Dvr (1.5 liter Blue HDI). That is a theoretical potential of about 1.1 million engines per year, not to mention the machining of crankcases, crankshafts, cylinder heads and other connecting rods.
On-site, the total production volume is expected this year around 800 to 900,000 engines, twice more than in 2016. However, the production volumes of diesel engines are likely to decrease, like those of three-cylinder gasoline engines – also produced elsewhere in Europe. For its part, Renault plans to stop production of its last engine in the French mechanical by the end of 2019.
In fact, things are better for the employees of the French mechanics, who see their future clear. The site currently has 1,700 employees, to whom are added about 400 temporary workers. In 2013, they had signed a specific competitiveness agreement. The factory then employed 3,500 people.
Opel engineers will be responsible for driving the development of the future generation of EP engines.