Ford has announced its 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine shifted more units than any other turbocharged petrol engine in Europe during the first half of 2014.
Between January and June, the compact but powerful engine – the block of which is small enough to fit on a sheet of A4 paper – powered around 120,000 Ford vehicles sold, up from 104,000 in the corresponding period of last year.
The statistic means one in five of all new Ford vehicles sold in Europe throughout the six-month period – including a third of new Fiesta and Focus cars – came equipped with the Ecoboost engine.
Furthermore, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine represented just under half of all B-MAX multi-activity vehicles sold during the half-year.
As well as recording impressive sales figures, the power unit has won plenty of plaudits from within the industry, bagging 13 major accolades – including seven International Engine of the Year titles, the International Paul Pietsch Award 2013 for technological innovation in Germany and the Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club in Great Britain.
Since hitting the European market in 2012 with the Ford Focus, the engine has seen its UK line-up expand to include a further nine vehicles: Fiesta, B-MAX, EcoSport, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, Tourneo Connect, Grand Tourneo Connect, Transit Connect and Transit Courier.
Just under one-quarter of the 211,722 Ford vehicles sold within the UK in the first half of 2014 featured the 1.0-litre EcoBoost.
Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer at Ford of Europe, said: "Customers are clearly enjoying the benefits from a small engine that offers great fuel efficiency with no compromise to refinement or performance
"The range of models offering the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine will rise to 11 when the all-new Mondeo is launched in the coming months, and the new 140 PS version in the Fiesta Red Edition and Black Edition shows there is even more potential."
Posted by George Davis