SCOOP! Volkswagen to localise new-gen 2.0-litre diesel engine

Volkswagen India has revealed that it has plans to localise the new-generation 2.0-litre diesel engine later this year in order to reduce costs. The EA288 engine will be the second powertrain to be localised by the German carmaker after it started assembling the 1.5-litre diesel motor last year at its facility in Chakan, Pune.

“We are continuing with strong localisation which you can see in our compact sedan and we will be localising the new EA288 (2.0-litre diesel) engine this year. This is a very modern engine which powers a wide range of our cars so it’s very logical that we are doing this,” Andreas Lauermann, president and managing director, Volkswagen India told Autocar India in an exclusive interview.

The company feels that the collective sales volume will grow to justify localisation of the 2.0-litre diesel engine, which powers a wide range of Volkswagen Group vehicles. The engine has been designed for the modular transverse matrix or MQB platform architecture of the Volkswagen Group and will power a wide range of future models built on the platform.

The current models powered by the 2.0-litre EA288 engine in India are the Audi A3 sedan and the Skoda Octavia. Future models will include the new Skoda Superb, next-gen Skoda SUVs, the Audi Q2, the new Audi A6, the 2016 A4 (which will be showcased at the upcoming 2016 Auto Expo), and the new Volkswagen Passat.

Besides, the 2.0-litre EA288 diesel engine is well placed to meet BS-VI (equivalent to Euro VI) norms which are likely to be brought forward to 2020.

Auto manufacturers may have to produce engines that comply with BS-VI emissions standards by April 1, 2020, after the government recently announced plans to skip BS-V in an attempt to curb vehicle pollution in India.