Volvo to get rid of 5 and 6-cylinder engines to boost fuel-economy

It seems like V8 and V6 engines are being phased out by the day. Volvo said it will stop making the biggest engines offered in its lineup in the next 10 years to help meet tougher emissions standards in the United States, Europe and China.

“Before the end of the decade, all Volvo models will have engines with no more than four cylinders,” Volvo R&D boss Peter Mertens said in an interview with Automotive News Europe.

Later in 2013, Volvo will introduce a new family of 3-cylinder and 4-clyinder gasoline and diesel engines that will replace the company’s 5- and 6-cylinder options. The VEA (short for Volvo Environmental Architecture) engine will most likely appear in one of Volvo’s existing models.

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The VEA family consists of four engines – 1.5 liter 3-cylinder gasoline direct-injection and diesel options as well as 2.0 liter 4-cylinder gasoline direct-injection and diesel engines.

“We will develop 4-cylinder engines with higher performance than today’s 6-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current 4-cylinder generation,” Mertens said. Volvo says the engines will offer improved fuel economy by up to 35 percent.

The VEA engines are a critical part of the company’s plan to hit 800,000 annual sales by 2020.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News